4f 


i^<}3<3< 


Iff 


ILrao 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


Division 

Section »...V....V..O 

Shelf Number 


MEN  OF 

THE  BIBLE. 

Under  an  arrangement  with  the  English  pub- 
lishers, Messrs.  A.  D.  F.  Randolph  &  Co. 
will  issue  a  series  of  volumes  by  distinguished 
scholars,  on 

THE   MEN   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

ABRAHAM:    HIS    LIFE   AND    TIMES.     By  the 

Rev.  W.  J.  De.ane,  M.A. 
MOSES :   HIS  LIFE  AND  TIMES.     By  the  Rev. 

Canon  G.  Rawlinson,  M.A. 
SOLOMON  :  HIS  LIKE  AND  TIMES.   By  the  Ven. 

Archdeacon  Farrar,  D.D. 
ISAIAH  :   HIS   LIFE  AND  TIMES.     By  the  Rev. 

Canon  S.  R.  Driver,  M.A. 
SAMUEL  AND    SAUL:     THEIR    LIVES    AND 

TIMES.     By  Rev.  William  J.  Dean,  M.A. 

JEREMIAH:    HIS   LIFE    AND   TIMES.     By  the 

Rev.  Canon  T.  K.  Cheyne,  M.A. 
JESUS  THE  CHRIST  :    HIS  LIFE  AND  TIMES. 

By  the  Rev.  F.  J.  Vallings,  M.A. 
ELIJAH  :   HIS  LIFE  AND  TIMES.     By  the  Rev. 

W.  Milligan,  D.D. 

IN    PREPARATION. 
GIDEON  :  HIS  LIFE  AND  TIMES.     By  the  Rev. 

J.  M.  Lang,  D.D. 

To  the  studeni  and  the  general  reader  these 
volumes  will  be  found  alike  tiseftd  and  inter- 
esting, and  the  question  mav  well  be  asked,  why 
the  intelligent  reader  '^hould  not  find  the  lives 
of  the  great  men  of  the  Bible  as  useftd  or  as 
fascinati)ig  as  the  story  of  those  who  have  won 
a  conspicuotes  place  in  the  annals  of  secular 
history.  And  yet  how  indifferent  thousands  of 
cultivated  persons  a  ^c  to  these  lives,  save  only 
as  they  are  recorded  in  outline  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures.     Price,  $i.oo  each. 

*^*  S£7it  by  mail  on  receipt  of  price. 

AN.SON  D.  F.  RANDOLPH  &  COMPANY, 

38   WEST  TVVENTV-TIIIRD   STRRET,   N.   Y. 


Jesus  Christ  the  Divine  Man 


HIS    LIFE   AND   TIMES. 


BY 


J.    F.    VALLINGS,    M.A.. 


VICAR   OF  SOPLEY,    HON.    FKLLOW,    SOMETIME    SUBWARDEN    OF  ST.    AUGUSTINE'S 
COLLEGE,  CANTERBURY. 


NEW  YORK: 
ANSON  D.  F.  RANDOLPH  &  COMPANY, 

38  WEST  TWENTY-THIRD  STREET. 


PREFACE; 


If  any  apology  be  needed  for  adding  another  to  the  various  lives  of  Christ 
already  before  the  public,  it  may  be  well  to  state  how  far  this  little  book 
occupies  any  independent  ground  of  its  own.  The  object  of  the  writer  has 
been  to  make  some  small  contribution  to  the  moral  and  spiritual  history 
of  the  Life  of  lives,  and  this  in  some  especial  relation  to  missionary  work 
and  the  contact  of  Christianity  with  non-Christian  religions.  "The 
ethical,"  as  Prof  Kuenen  well  says,  ''is  the  universal  human."  Ethical 
and  spiritual  sequences  of  cause  and  effect  have  been  especially  before  the 
writer's  mind.  The  Gospel  history  is  "  a  history,  which  in  every  part  of 
it,"  as  Weiss  says,  "  must  be  considered  in  the  light  of  Him  who  trans- 
cends all  history."  The  superhistorical  relations  of  the  historical  life  have 
been  touched  upon  in  some  of  their  bearings  upon  the  past,  present,  and 
future  of  Christianity.  Even  Keim,  from  whose  point  of  view  the  present 
writer  wholly  differs,  while  gladly  acknowledging  his  great  ability  and 
learning,  and  not  infrequent  reverence  of  tone  and  enthusiasm  of  humanity, 
affirms  of  Christ's  life  that  it  is  "bounded  at  its  circumference  by  the 
human  limitations  of  His  age,  in  its  centre  exalted  above  all."  Such 
language  may  imply  nothing  but  hero  worship,  but  it  is  at  all  events  a 
recognition  of  the  incomparable  grandeur  of  Christ's  life  and  character. 

While  the  moral  and  spiritual  aspects  of  the  Life  have  been  placed  in 
the  foreground,  every  effort  has  been  made  to  present  the  physical  and 
social  environment  briefly,  yet  accurately,  in  the  light  of  modern  research. 
In  this  connection  the  archaeological  and  geographical  labours  of  the 
Palestine  Exploration  Society  have  been  largely  drawn  upon,  and  the  most 
recent  records  of  travel,  especially  those  of  Captain  Conder,  Mr.  Lawrence 
Olipliant,  and  Dr.  Selah  Merrill. 

Upon  the  whole,  the  greatest  obligations  are  due  to  Dr.  Edersheim  His 
wealth  of  Rabbinical  lore,  liis  great  theological  erudition,  his  deep  sym- 
pathy with  Israel,  springing  from  the  strongest  of  all  sources,  the  fountain 
of  blood  relationship,  and  his  true  spirituality  of  touch,  place  his 
work,  in  the  writer's  estimate,  at  the  head  of  all  the  contemporary  literature 
of  the  subject.  Keim's  merits  are  great  intellectually,  but  it  is  impossible 
for  him  to  sink  the  negative  critic,  and  to  help  rewriting,  mutilating,  and 


IV  PREFACE. 

disintegrating  the  Gospels.  Weiss  is  not  free  from  the  same  tendency, 
but  in  the  main  is  on  the  positive  side.  His  psychological  and  critical 
powers  are  high. 

Mr.  Stanton's  book  on  the  Jewish  and  Christian  Messiah  is  one  which 
deserves  more  than  passing  notice.  It  is  the  outcome  of  very  patient, 
fair-minded  study  of  the  pre-Messianic  and  the  Messianic  period.  In  the 
interests  of  apology,  and  from  the  earnest  desire  to  give  the  naturalistic 
school  full  justice,  he  seems  to  err  sometimes  in  the  direction  of  concession. 
His  estimate  of  the  Talmudic  evidence  tends  to  excessive  minimizing  of  its 
value.  Dr.  Liddon's  Bampton  Lectures  are  too  well  known  to  need 
mention,  and  are  beyond  praise.  Emil  Schiirer's  work  on  "  The  Jewish 
People  in  the  Time  of  Jesus  Christ "  is  a  deep  well  of  erudition,  from 
which  all  students  of  the  period  must  draw.  The  book  is,  however,  in- 
debted to  many  other  writers  from  very  different,  and  sometimes  quite  con- 
tradictory, theological  schools.  Direct  quotations  are  acknowledged  in  the 
notes. 

In  regard  to  the  position  taken  towards  naturalistic  and  negative  critics, 
and  in  all  debateable  ground,  it  may  be  as  well  to  state  that  controversial 
points  have  not  been  argumentatively  treated.  First,  because  the  spiritual 
unity,  and  even  the  dramatic  interest,  of  the  Life  is  encroached  upon. 
Secondly,  because  the  space  required  would  be  much  greater.  There  is 
however  no  wish  to  evade  difficulties.  They  are  often  met  indirectly  and 
suggestively.  Conclusions  are  often  stated  without  elaborate  proofs,  as 
the  result  of  carefully  formulated  opinion,  and  of  some  labour.  Schoiirs 
know  where  to  look  for  the  pros  and  cons  of  debateable  questions.  I'ha 
general  reader  satisfies  himself  with  the  results  of  technical  investigation. 
The  writer  cannot  pretend  to  treat  the  Divinity  of  Christ  as  ar.  open 
question.  He  writes  as  an  humble  adorer,  and  most  unworthy  zisciple. 
Tlie  four  Gospels  throughout  are  treated  as  trustworthy  historical  docu- 
ments. The  question  of  their  origin,  their  genuineness,  and  authenticity,  is 
one  far  too  large  to  be  opened  here,  and  may  safely  be  left  by  all  English 
Christian  apologists  in  the  hands  of  Drs.  Westcott,  Hort,  Salmon,  Scrivener, 
and  Sanday. 

Jesus  Christ,  to  the  writer,  is  the  Ideal  Man,  the  supreme  ethical  Term 
and  spiritual  Superlative,  the  Reprt::5entative  Man,  the  Divine  Man,  God 
over  all,  blessed  for  ever.  To  Teat  His  earthly  life  in  its  organic  spiritual 
unity  and  moral  relations  has  been  in  some  degree  attempted.  May  the 
Blessed  One  bless  the  ^itempt  I 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER   I. 

PAGB 

The  Desire  of  all  Nations i 

Theli:"e  of  Jesus  the  eartlily  manifestation  of  the  Divine  life  of 
Jehovah— Historical  character  of  that  life  upon  the  basis  of  the 
Four  Gospels  definitely  accepted— The  doctrine  of  development 
historically  apf)iied— Thc//Yr/<7r(7/?('  Evangelica — The  unsatisfied 
spiritual  desires  of  nations — The  Roman  unsatisfied  by  power, 
the  Greek  bv  thought,  the  Jew  by  Rabbinism,  the  Ruddhist  by 
Nirvana— The  Desire  of  all  nations  the  fulfilment  of  unsatisfied 
spiritual  needs,  individual,  national  ;  and  His  religion  aione  uni- 
versal—Jesus the  Universal  Ideal  and  Example,  and  the  universal 
and  only  moral  dynamic. 

CHAPTER  H. 

The  Messianic  Hope  within  the  Canon 9 

Divine  differentiation  selecting  from  the  woman's  seed  a  nation, 
a  tribe— Tvpical  characters  and  offices  foreshadowing  different 
aspects  of  the  Son  of  Man— Spiritual  and  devotional  preparation 
— The  Ideal  of  the  Prophets— The  King— The  Suffering  Servant 
of  God— Post-exilian  hope— The  priestly  hope— Minor  and  rela- 
tive ideals  contribute  to  the  fulness  of  the  complete  hope — Unique 
hope  in  history — The  Divine  Man  a  fulfilment  of  multitudinous 
foreshadowings. 

CHAPTER  HI. 

The  Post-canonical  Messianic  Hope i8 

Debased  period  -Hope  persistent — In  Apocrvpha  impersonal  and 
national — In  the  Apocalypses  personal  and  national — In  the 
Talmud — Rabbinism — Christ's  work  to  re-create  and  transform 
as  well  as  fulfil  the  Messianic  Ideal — What  might  have  been. 

CHAPTER    IV. 

The  Divine  Babe 29 

The  country  priest's  home— Zacharias  in  the  Temple — The  Angel 
of  promise  to  the  priest— The  Angel  of  promise  to  the  Virgin — 
The  meeting  of  the  holy  women — The  spiritual  songs — The 
iournev  to  Bethleliem — The  holy  Nativity — The  angelic  anthem — 
The  visit  of  the  shepherds. 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   V. 

rAGS 

The  Epiphanies  of  the  Divine  Infant     .       ,       »       ,       ,      38 

The  Epiphany  of  the  Divine  Infant  in  the  Temple  —  The 
Epiphany  of  the  Divine  Infant  to  the  Gentiles — The  flight  into 
Egypt — The  return. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Divine  Boy.      The  Divine  Youth       •       .       •        .       .      !»4 

Nazareth — Physical  environment — Home  influence  and  education 
— Epiphany  of  the  ]3ivine  Boy — The  Father's  house — The  tender 
Plant — The  Divine  Young  Man — The  simple  home — Experience 
of  men — Communion  with  nature — God's  silences  of  preparation. 

CHAPTER   VII. 

The  Prophet  Baptist.      The  Divine  Baptism  .        .       ,        #58 

John  in  the  Wilderness — The  Great  Renunciation — The  Cry  of 
the  Kingdom— The  Flow  of  Penitents^ esus  Baptized — Why? 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

The  Divine  Temptation        .....*•*     66 

Personal  Tempter,  external  and  real  ;  not  an  internal  process — 
First  offer — Supposed  Buddhist  resemblance — Second  ofler — • 
Third  offer — Temptations  recurrent — Temptation  representative. 

CHAPTER   IX. 

The  Lamb  of  God.  The  Divine  Son  of  Man  at  the  Social 
Feast.  The  Divine  Reformkr  in  the  House  of  God. 
The  Divine  and  the  Human  Rabbi 71 

The  first  disciples — Sense  of  sin  supreme  factor — Tlie  Lamb  of 
God — The  Son  of  Man — The  Cana  wedding  ;  its  promise — First 
Messianic  passover — The  Reformer — The  Casuist. 

CHAPTER   X. 

The  Baptist's  Farewell  Testimony.     The  Saviour  and  the 

Samakitaness.     The  Nazarene So 

Jesus  on  the  Baptist's  ground — The  Prophet's  last  testimony — 
Jesus  in  Samaria — The  Well  of  Jacob — In  Galilee  again — In 
Nazareth  again. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   XI. 


The  Divine  Galilean 9° 

Capernaum — The  unknown  feast  at  Jerusalem — Galilee  in  Christ's 
time  and  now — Galilean  labours. 


CHAPTER   XH. 

The  Divine  Apostle.     The  Divine  Moralist  .        .        .       .      96 

The  selection  of  the  Twelve — Organization  of  the  Divine  society 
— Organization  of  the  life— Code  of  the  New  Kingdom  in  its  past, 
present,  and  future  relations. 

CHAPTER   Xni. 

The  Divine  Art  Teacher.     The  Divine   Nature-worker. 

The  Divine  Missionary 106 

Capernaum— Nain — The  Baptist  in  Machcerus — The  Saviour 
and  the  lost  woman — Divine  self-assertion— Spiritual  industry — 
Parables  of  Divine  art  interpret  Nature— Mirncle  of  power  over 
Nature — Demonism—  Incessant  labours  —  Mission  tours  —  The 
martyr  of  MachaTus — The  Feeding  of  the  Five  Thousand — The 
Bread  of  Life — The  stormy  lake — I'he  contradiction  of  sinners — 
Passover  retreat — Back  to  work. 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

The  Divine  Transfiguration 123 

On  the  way  to  Ca?sarea  Philippi — The  Petrine  confession — The 
Rock — The  Divine  sign — The  excellent  glory — The  descent — 
The  return — The  predictions. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Ascension  journey.    The  Divine  Missionary  in  Per^a.     131 

The  days  of  going  up — Peremptory  claims  —The  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles— The  adulteress — The  Light  of  the  World — The  Shepherd 
of  Israel — Pastor  pasfort/yn — Pera-an  Mission — The  seventy  mis- 
sionaries— Tile  Good  Samaritan — The  devout  home  scene — The 
prajer  of  prayers — Perosan  work  resumed — I'he  Feast  of  Dedica- 
tion— Return  to  Perasa  — Incarnate  energy— Missionary  Parables 
— Parables  of  the  Unseen  World. 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

Gathering  Shadows •       •       •       .    148 

The  resurrection  of  Lazarus— Back  to  Persea — Divorce  and  mar- 
riage— The  rights  of  woman — The  rights  of  children — Behold,  we 
go  up  to  Jerusaltm  ! — Jericho  — Zaccliseus  and  the  service  ot  man 
— The  blind  healed— The  pilgrims  in  debate — The  Sabbath  rest 
and  unction. 


VllI  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

PAGE 

The  Messianic  Entry.      The  Contradiction  of  Sinners      .    i6o 

The  Triumphal  Entry — The  Devil's  stand — The  Second  Temple 
cleansino; — The  barren  fi^tree — The  "  Day  of  Questions  " — The 
Divine  Controversialist — The  Divine  Apocalypse — ^Jewish  Escha- 
tology. 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

The  Divine  Sacrifice 172 

Judas  traitor — Wednesday  in  retreat — The  Last  Supper — Geth- 
semane — The  arrest — The  Divine  Prisoner  before  Annas,  before 
Caiaphas,  before  Pilate,  before  Herod — Judas's  end — Before 
Pilate  again — Ecce  Homo  ! — Round  the  Cross — The  Seven  Words 
— The  Atonement. 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

The  Divine  Sabbath 187 

The  marred  Body — The  Soul  free  among  the  dead — Easter  Eve. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

The  Resurrection  and  the  Forty  Days 190 

The  Resurrection — ?vlagdalena  dolorosa — The  Resurrection  une.\- 
pected,  a  Divine  must  be — Emmaus — Appearance  to  the  eleven 
apostles  and  other  brethren — Differentiation  of  offices — Doubter 
Thomas  —  Messianic  critical  difficulties — Celsus's  objection  — 
Vision  hypothesis — Galilee  again — The  fishers  on  the  sea  again — 
All  authority — Undetailed  appearances — The  great  Forty  Days — 
Divine  organization  —  Development  of  order — Development  of 
faith — Continmty,  both  of  soul  and  body — The  four  distinct 
Evangelic  reports. 

CHAPTER   XXI. 
The  Ascension  and  After    ....»•..    21c 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

The    Character    of    Christ.       Christ   as    a    Moral   and 

Spiritual   Worker 214 

Miracles  morally  conditioned — ^Jesus  Christ  a  spiritual  miracle — 
Strength  of  right  will — His  originality,  negative  and  positive — 
Authoritativencss — Placed  humanity  upon  the  throne  of  the 
cosmos,  and  made  moral  and  spiritual  interests  supreme — Gave 
a  moral  ideal,  and  a  moral  dynamic — Individualism — Univer- 
salism — Women — Children — Practical  every-day  morality — Con- 
sistency —  New  viitues  and  graces  —  Faith  —  Hope  —  Love  — 
Humility— Truth — Religion  of  the  Bod\ — Unification  of  religion 
ami  morahtv — Pravcriuiness — Self-assertion  of  smiessness. 


CHAPTER  fi 

THE  DESIRE  OF   ALL  NATIONS. 

"Thirst  came  upon  the  worshipper,  though  he  stood  in  the  midst  of  the 
waters"  (Rig-Veda  vii.  89.  4). 

IlaffTjc  OS  rPig  oiicovninjc  yrrav  (01  npofpTjrai)  SiSaaKuXiov  'upiv  tijq 
vef>i  Qeoii  yi'o'«T£iu(.',  icai  riiQ  Kara  ^vx'l"  TroXireiac;  (Athanasius, 
"  De  Incarnatione,"  xii.). 

The  hfe  of  Jesus  the  earthly  manifestation  of  the  Divine  hfe  of  Jehovah  — 
Historical  character  of  that  life  upon  the  basis  of  tlie  Four  Gospels 
definitely  accepted — The  doctrine  of  development  historically  applied 
— The  prcBparatio  Evangelica — The  unsatisfied  spiritual  desires  of 
nations — The  Roman  unsatisfied  by  power,  the  Greek  by  thought, 
the  Jew  by  Rabbinism,  the  Buddiiist  by  Nirvana — The  Desire  of 
all  nations  the  fulfilment  of  unsatisfied  spiritual  needs,  individual, 
national  ;  and  His  religion  alone  universal — ^Jesus  the  Universal  Ideal 
and  Example,  and  the  universal  and  only  moral  dynamic. 

Jesus  Christ  is  God  over  all,  Blessed  for  ever.  The  earthly 
life  of  Jesus  was  the  inanifestation  in  a  single  province  of  God's 
universe  of  that  Divine  life  which  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  be, 
above  and  beyond,  before  and  after  all  the  universe,  the  same 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever.  The  life  of  Jesus  Christ  is  a 
fragment  of  a  great  whole.  That  whole  is  the  Divine  life 
eternal,  which  was  seen  by  men's  eyes,  heard  by  men's  ears, 
handled  by  men's  hands  for  one-third  of  a  century.  The  study 
of  the  earthly  life  of  Christ  is  the  divinely  revealed  mode  ot 
approach  to  the  knowledge,  and,  through  the  knowledge,  to  the 
possession  of  the  Divine  life.  In  the  work  and  teaching  of 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Divine  work  and  teaching  were  exhibited 
under  the  limited  conditions  of  earthly  life.  The  Divine 
character  was  translated  into  earthly  forms  to  be  seen  and  read 
of  all  men. 

2 


a  JESUS  CHRIST, 

The  appearance  of  Christ  amongs!:  men  was  the  greatest 
event  in  human  history ;  the  relations  of  God  to  man  and  of 
man  to  God  and  of  man  to  man  underwent  a  change.  This 
change  was  not  due  to  any  alterations  in  the  unchangeable 
character  of  God,  but  was  the  effect  of  a  new  approach,  long 
foreshadowed  and  prefigured  on  God's  side  to  man.  The 
incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God  introduced  to  man  a  new 
character,  a  new  force,  a  new  example.  That  character,  that 
force,  that  example,  were  the  revelation  of  the  Divine  under  all 
the  varying  conditions  of  human  life.  The  Divine  Life  stooped 
down  from  heaven,  humbled  itself  to  the  level  of  its  own 
creatures,  submitted  to  death  for  its  own  high  purposes. 
Nature  is  not  conquered  but  by  obedience.  The  self-humilia- 
tion of  God  is  another  illustration  of  the  truth  of  the  Baconian 
epigram.  To  conquer  human  nature,  to  lead  it  in  a  willing 
triumph,  the  Word  became  flesh.  As  the  old  Fathers  have  loved 
again  and  again  to  express  it,  God  became  man  that  man  might 
become  God.  The  Divine  became  human  and  emptied  itself 
of  its  glory  that  the  human  might  be  glorified  into  the 
Divine. 

Reader  and  writer  alike  of  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ  do  well  to 
remember  that  every  deed  and  word  and  thought  recorded  in 
the  memoirs  of  Jesus  Christ  are  God's.  The  contemplation  of 
Christ's  life  is  an  act  of  worship.  Worship  is  the  only  possible 
attitude  of  the  soul  as  it  stands  before  the  mystery  of  the 
revelation  of  the  eternal  God.  Here,  the  absolute  and  the 
relative,  the  infinite  and  the  finite,  the  unseen  and  the  seen 
touch  hands.  The  creature  can  only  appreliend  and  understand 
the  Creator  under  its  own  conditions.  God  has  made  Himself 
knowable,  intelligible,  loveable,  by  the  works  of  His  hands. 
To  impart  that  knowledge  to  the  creature  which  is  eternal  life, 
to  make  the  children  of  men  children  of  God,  the  Son  of  God 
becatne,  and  continues  for  ever,  the  Son  of  Man.  To  increase 
the  knowableness  of  God,  Christ  manifested  Him  under  directly 
and  immediately  knowable  conditions. 

The  idea  of  development  is  the  most  important  intellectual 
discovery  of  nineteenth-century  thought.  Under  the  dominion, 
and  sometimes  the  exclusive  tyranny,  of  this  thought,  all  our 
historic  investigations  liave  been  reconsidered.  The  applica- 
tion of  these  princitiles  to  every  department  of  life  and  thought 
is  an  intellectual  ne^essitv.     And   the  Lhr.stian  welcomes  the 


THE   DESIRIi   OF   ALL   NATIONS.  3 

scientific  revelations,  wherever  and  however  misunderstood  or 
perverted,  as  an  inspiration  from  the  God  of  truth. 

Read  in  this  light  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ  becomes  full  of 
manifold  Divine  light.  All  pre-Christian  history  is  seen  to  be 
marching  from  stage  to  stage  to  this  consummation.  All 
Christian  history  is  seen  to  be  the  gradual  development  of  the 
work  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  life  of  Christ  is  recognized  as 
absolute  and  unique  in  itself,  but  in  strict  relation  to  the  whole 
chain  of  God's  eternal  purpose.  What  led  up  to,  and  what 
followed,  that  life  may  be  regarded  as  the  natural  movemeuts 
of  Divine  causation,  supernaturally  born  in  the  bosom  of  God's 
thought,  and  supernaturally  conditioned  by  His  will.  Then  the 
manifestation  of  the  Christ  is  viewed  as  the  personal  entry  of 
the  Divine  Being  upon  a  scene  long  prepared  and  having  before 
it  a  long,  but  unknown,  future. 

The  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  was  not  an  absolutely  isolated 
event  in  the  history  of  mankind.  There  was  a  long  prepa- 
ration, a  continuous  development,  a  gradual  differentiation 
through  the  ages.  Prince  after  prince,  ruler  after  ruler,  prophet 
after  prophet,  man  of  God  after  man  of  God,  were  sent.  They 
were  forerunners  :  they  were  types  :  they  were  links  in  the 
chain.  They  all  pointed  onwards  and  prepared  the  way  for 
the  coming  Prince,  Ruler,  Prophet,  the  Man  of  God.  The 
gifts,  the  powers,  the  excellencies,  the  glories  of  all,  were  to  be 
combined  in  one.  He  was  to  be  Crown  and  Flower  as  He  had 
been  the  root  of  all.  All  the  events  in  all  the  ages  were 
marching  forward  to  this  culmination.  Conscious  and  un- 
conscious prophecy  reached  its  fulfilment ;  its  partial  fulfilment 
as  the  earnest  of  the  higher  fulfilments  to  be. 

Roman,  Greek,  and  Jewish  worlds  lay  in  the  shadow  of 
death.  The  old  order  was  everywhere  changing  ;  the  birth  of 
the  new  creation  was  at  hand  ;  the  world  was  sick  and  weary. 
Nothing  in  life  could  give  satisfaction  to  the  human  spirit.  The 
cry  of  the  child  of  Vedic  India,  "  Which  of  all  these  gods  will 
hear  our  cry,  and  be  favourable  unto  us  ?  Who  will  come  down 
and  deliver  us?"'  was  the  reverberated  wail,  or  the  unex- 
pressed sigh,  of  an  infinite  wilderness  of  hearts. 

The  Roman  conquest  had  brought  into  the  field  of  religion 
a    number  of   competitors,   none  able   to  hold  the  sceptre  of 

*  Rig- Veda  x.  64.  i,  quoted  by  De  Pressens^,  "  The  Ancient  World 
and  Christianity,"  p.  187. 


4  JESUS   CHRIST. 

the  strongest.  The  conquest  resuUed  in  a  fusion  of  nalional 
gods  and  religions,  a  synthesis,  not  unhke  that  seen  in  some  of 
the  developments  of  the  Indian  Brahmo  Samaj.  All  religions 
were  thus  put  upon  an  equally  relative  footing  ;  and  none  could 
claim  an  absolute  sanction.  Religions  which  may  be  equally 
true  will  be  equally  false,  and  to  such  a  position  thought  was 
actually  drifting.  The  attempt  to  enforce  religion  by  State 
policy  inevitably  tended  to  destroy  any  claim  to  higher  than 
human  sanction.  "  Honour  the  gods,"  said  the  Roman  states- 
man M;ccenas,  "according  to  national  custom  ;  and  compel 
others  to  honour  them  likewise."  ' 

The  only  god  possible  to  humanity,  when  all  divinities  were 
dethroned,  was  some  anthropomorphic  attribute,  or  combination 
of  attributes.  The  god  of  the  Roman  world  was  power — his 
impersonation  the  Cassar.  He  was  power  and  human  self- 
worship  incarnate.  His  name  was  deified.  His  apotheosis  began 
to  take  place  in  his  lifetime.  But  "  permanent  and  habitual 
admiration ''  (according  to  a  modern,  but  wholly  inadequate 
definition  of  worship)  of  embodied  power  could  not  satisfy  the 
cravings  of  the  human  heart  for  anything  but  hero-worship, 
Still  the  conception  of  a  Divine  Cassar  might  have  assisted 
some  minds  in  the  Roman  world  to  admit  into  the  shrine  of 
their  hearts  a  Divine  man,  who  claimed  to  be  the  incarnation, 
not  of  political  power  only,  but  of  moral  and  spiritual  power, 
of  power  over  Nature,  of  power  over  the  heart  and  conscience, 
over  the  temporal  destinies  of  nations,  and  the  eternal  destinies 
of  men  ;  and  not  of  power  only,  which  may  be  worshipped  and 
dreaded,  but  not  loved ;  but  of  love,  holiness,  wisdom, 
righteousness,  which  constitute  what  is  loveable  as  well  as  what 
is  admirable.  A  true  Roman  was  prepared  to  admire  Order 
and  Law  Incarnate.  And  the  works  of  Supernatural  Order, 
Law,  Power,  were  just  those  which  were  set  in  the  Roman 
Gospel  of  Mark  for  his  instruction.  The  impersonation  of  Law, 
Order,  Power  set  upon  a  new  basis,  robed  in  a  different  uni- 
form, the  Imperial  purple  of  His  own  blood,  and  wearing  a 
Crown  but  of  thorns,  and  breathing  the  new  and  wholly  strange 
atmosphere  of  unspeakable  love  and  infinite  humility,  was  the 
new  Divinity  who  claimed  whatever  of  loyalty,  of  adoration,  of 
reverence,  was  left  in  the  debased  religion,  whose  gods  were 
humanised  and  whose  human  beings  were  deified.  Here,  as 
»  Quoted  by  Pressens6  from  Boissier. 


THK    DKSIRE   Oh'    ALL    NA'liOXS.  5 

always  and  everywhere,  Christ  came  to  recognize,  transform, 
and  elevate  all  pre-existent  good,  as  well  as  to  crush  and 
destroy  all  pre-existent  evil.  The  disintegration  of  national 
divinities  resulted  in  the  integration  of  Ciiesar-worship,  the 
actual  religion  of  the  Roman  world  when  Christ  came  to  in- 
stitute a  new  religion. 

The  Greeks  of  the  day  were  merged  in  the  Roman  world. 
The  worship  of  the  Greek  had  been  anthropomorphic.  Plato 
indeed  had  theistic  moments.  Aristotle  had  theistic  moments. 
But  for  both  God  was  a  bare  abstraction.  God  was  the 
Thought  of  Thought,  but  out  of  relaiion,  not  in  relation,  to  the 
object  of  thought.  Kivtl  dig  tpwptvov,  not  kivlT  wg  tpuv  ;  i.e.^ 
He  moves  the  universe  as  an  object  of  love,  not  as  loving  it, 
as  transcending  it  and  out  of  relation  to  it.  Such  a  God  could 
only  be,  and  was,  to  the  popular  mind  a  negative  quantity, 
similar  to  the  Brahma  of  Hinduism. 

The  real  divinity  of  Greeks  was  Thought,  in  its  various  in- 
carnations of  philosophy,  art,  literature.  But  even  intellectual 
salvation  and  mental  satisfaction  had  not  been  reached,  and 
one  inadequate  system  gave  way  to  another,  and  left  humanity 
with  the  whole  head  sick  and  the  whole  heart  faint. 

On  the  moral  side,  Socrates  and  the  Socratic  school  had 
created  a  desire  for  moral  ideals,  and  so  far  as  ethical  systems 
could  gratify  the  appetite  had  provided  the  best  of  fare.  But 
talking  about  virtue  could  never  manufacture  it.  The  moral 
dynamic  was  wanting,  and  the  concrete  impersonation  of 
abstract  moralities.  Socrates  was  the  nearest  approach  to  the 
latter.  A  remarkable  passage  in  the  Symposium  of  Plato 
indicates  that  his  personality  had  upon  some  of  his  disciples 
the  effect  of  creating  moral  self-dissatisfaction,  distinct  from 
the  mere  jealousy  of  moral  or  intellectual  inferiority.  "When 
we  hear  any  other  speaker,  even  a  very  good  one,  his  words 
produce  absolutely  no  effect  in  comparison.  .  .  .  And  if  I  were 
not  afraid  that  you  would  think  me  drunk,  I  would  have  sworn 
as  well  as  spoken  to  the  influence  which  they  have  always  had 
and  still  have  over  me.  ...  I  have  heard  Pericles  and  other 
great  orators,  but  this  Marsyas  has  often  brought  me  to  such  a 
pass,  that  I  have  felt  as  if  I  could  hardly  endure  the  life  which 
I  am  leading.  .  .  .  For  he  makes  me  confess  that  I  ought  not 
to  live  as  I  do,  neglecting  the  wants  of  my  own  soul,  and 
busying  myself  with  the  concerns  of  tne  Athenians  ;  therefore 


6  JESUS   CHRIST. 

I  hold  my  ears  and  tear  myself  away  from  him.  And  he  is  the 
only  person  who  ever  made  me  ashamed,  which  you  might 
think  not  to  be  in  my  nature,  and  there  is  no  one  else  who  does 
the  same."  ' 

If  any  of  the  Socratic  school  did  as  much  as  this  they  did  a 
great  deal ;  they  created  such  a  thirst  as  prompted  the  question 
of  certain  Greeks,  "  Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus,"  and  paved  the  way 
for  those  conversions  of  proselytes  to  the  Israelites,  especially  in 
the  dispersion,  in  the  search  after  a  real  and  righteous  God,  or 
from  the  synagogue  of  Israel  to  the  Christian  Hellenist. 

The  Jewish  world  was  self-limited,  self-centred,  and  self- 
absorbed.  It  was,  too,  in  a  state  of  subjection.  How  could 
political  degradation  but  affect  the  nation,  and  nullify  any 
extra-national  prestige  and  influence,  even  if  it  were  claimed  ? 
And  it  was  claimed  but  partially.  "  Be  of  the  disciples  of 
Aaron  (the  peaceful)  ;  loving  peace  and  pursuing  peace  ;  loving 
the  creatures  and  bringing  them  nigh  to  the  Thorah"^ — beauti- 
ful words  of  Hillel's,  as  Kuenen  justly  remarks  ;  "  but,"  as 
he  asks  rightly,  "  how,  when  the  theory  has  to  be  put  into 
practice,  and  it  appears  that  this  '  Thorah,'  with  its  'hedge' 
raised  by  the  Sopherim,  and  made  yet  stronger  and  higher  in 
accordance  with  the  seven  rules  drawn  up  by  Hillel  himself,  is 
inaccessible  to  the  'creatures'  who  are  to  be  brought  to  it?"^ 
No,  Pharisaism  itself,  which  was  the  Jewish  religion  of  the  day 
when  Christ  came,  as  one  says  who  has  done  it  at  least  justice 
(if  not,  much  more  than  justice),  at  "its  own  most  flourishing 
period,  proclaims  loudly  and  unmistakably  enough  its  own 
insufficiency.  Within,  and  still  more  around  it,  in  the  life  of 
the  Jewish  people,  all  manner  of  phenomena  might  be  noted 
which,  to  any  one  capable  of  observing  and  fathoming  them, 
could  admit  of  no  other  interpretation  than  this."  * 

Judaism  left  to  itself  could  never  ascend  to  an  international, 
to  an  universal  religion.  The  best  proof  of  which  may  be 
found  in  modern  Judaism,  which  is  the  natural  development  of 
unchristianized  Judaism.  Modern  Judaism  never  extends  its 
borders,  never  makes  converts,  or  tries  to. 

*  Symposium,  215,  216,  Professor  Jowett's  translation  ;  cf.  Trench, 
"Hulsean  Lectures,  "  p.  251. 

'  Pirke  Aboth.  i.  13. 

3  Kuenen,  "  National  Religions  and  Universal  Religions,"  Hibbert 
Lectures,  1882,  p.  214.  *  Ibid.  p.  211. 


THE   DESIRE   OF   ALL   NATIONS.  7 

If  neither  Greek,  nor  Roman,  nor  Jew,  could  provide  an 
universal,  a  satisfying  religion,  we  need  hardly  pursue  our 
investigation  far  into  the  Oriental  religions.  No  civilized 
nation  has  ever  adopted  any  of  these  religions,  nor  could  any 
without  denationalizing  itself.  Whatever  truths  were  in 
them  they  had  neither  vitality  nor  force  to  preserve  their  own 
believers  from  falling  into  the  rear  of  nations.  Nor  would  it 
require  much  demonstration  to  prove  that  all  of  them,  without 
exception,  had  long  been  on  the  path  of  deterioration  and 
decay,  even  within  the  limits  of  their  own  obedience.'  One 
great  Oriental  religion,  that  of  Islam,  destined  to  play  a  great 
part  in  the  world,  had  not  yet  appeared  in  the  stream  of  com- 
petition ;  and  when  it  did  appear,  it  was  "  as  a  side  branch  of 
Christianity,  or,  better  still,  of  Judaism."* 

Buddhism  will  be  noticed  at  various  points  later  on.  But,  as 
a  satisfaction  of  the  desire  of  all  nations,  it  pronounces  its  own 
hopelessness  by  turning  away  from  the  world  instead  of 
redeeming  it,  by  expelling  desire  instead  of  satisfying  it,  by  point- 
ing to  nothingness  as  the  crown  of  existence,  and  the  consum- 
mation of  developments.  Confucianism  again  has  little  room 
for  a  doctrine  of  God.  "  Whatever  of  this  kind  is  found  in 
these  {i.e.,  the  Shu  and  the  Shih)  exists  only  in  shreds  and 
patches  "  ; '  and  its  worship  is  carried  on  representatively  only 
by  the  Head  of  the  State,  unshared  by  the  multitudes  of  the 
people- 
All  religions,  all  teachers  had  failed,  had  vanished  in  turn. 
The  Roman,  the  Greek,  the  Jew,  the  Oriental,  had  made  their 
several  contributions,  positive  and  negative,  to  the  development 
of  a  new  faith.  The  time  was  come  for  an  universal  religion 
and  an  universal  Person.  An  Ideal  Man  was  the  secret  answer 
to  spoken  and  unspoken  needs ;  an  Ideal  Man  who  should  take 
up,  consecrate,  and  complete  all  previous  moral  ideals  ;  an 
Ideal  Man  who  should  be .  universal,  not  fashioned  after 
particularist  national  idiosyncrasies,  who  was  not  a  Roman,  a 
Greek,  a  Jew,  an  Oriental.     He  must  be  a  Son  of  Man. 

Nor  was  an  Ideal  Man  sufficient.  He  would  satisfy  the 
craving  for  a  moral  ideal ;  but  the  standard  would  be  as  un- 
attainable as  ever.     Example  would  be  a  source  and  centre  of 

•  Taoism  is  an  example  after  the  death  of  Confucius.  Legge,  "  Religions 
of  China,"  p.  179.  '■'■  Kuenen,  p.  53. 

3  Legge,  "  Religions  of  China,"  p.  248. 


8  JESUS  CHRIST, 

moral  attractiveness.  But  example  in  itself  had  been  again 
and  again  tried  and  found  wanting  ;  and  even  examples  such  as 
Abraham,  Moses,  Joshua,  Buddha,  had  never  raised  others  to 
their  own  level  after  the  image  of  their  life  had  faded  into  the 
dark  silence.  Power  of  imitation  was  required  as  well  as  an 
object  to  imitate.  And  this  could  only  be  given  by  one  who 
could  communicate  the  power.  Jesus  Christ  claimed  to  be  the 
ideal  Son  of  iVIan,  and  claimed  to  give  the  power  to  His 
spiritual  children  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  His  brothers  in 
work,  in  life,  in  character,  in  glory.  Jesus  claimed  to  supply 
moral  dynamic  ;  to  heal  the  inveterate,  chronic,  universal 
disease  of  enfeebled  will,  as  well  as  to  supply  an  absolute  and 
universal  standard  of  character  and  life. 

The  Desire  of  all  nations  came  then  to  fulfil  that  desire.  He 
came  to  raise  mankind  to  the  levels  of  their  own  ideals,  as  well 
as  first  to  transform  their  ideals.  He  came,  the  Son  of  God,  in 
the  uniform  language  of  the  Fathers,  to  make  men  the  sons  of 
God.  He  came  to  spiritualize,  to  divinize,  to  deify  ;  and  so  to 
give  the  true  expression,  and  the  higher  conservation,  even  the 
infinite  promotion,  to  all  the  works  and  workers  of  righteous- 
ness, truth,  holiness  in  all  the  kingdoms  and  sub-kingdoms  of 
thought  and  life.  He  came  to  make  men  feel  they  were  loved 
by  the  Supreme  Love,  and  must  love  the  Supreme  Beloved. 

And  the  earthly  scene  chosen  for  the  theatre  of  Divine 
manifestation  fulfilled  the  long-ripening  process  of  God  which 
had  differentiated  one  people  and  country  for  Divine  purpose. 
It  was  well  fitted,  too,  apart  from  antecedent  preparation,  being 
the  meeting-place  of  East  and  West,  of  many  nations,  cultures, 
civilizations,  faiths. 


CHAPTER  II, 

THE  MESSIANIC  HOPE  WITHIN  THE  CANON. 

•'  E'n  now  the  shadows  break,  and  gleams  divine 
Edge  the  dim  distant  line." 

J.  H.  Newman. 

Divine  differentiation  selecting  from  the  woman's  seed  a  nation,  a  tribe- 
Typical  characters  and  offices  foreshadowing  different  aspects  of  the 
Son  of  Man— Spiritual  and  devotional  preparation — The  Ideal  of  the 
Prophets— The  King — The  Suffering  Servant  of  God — Post-exilian 
hope  —  The  priestly  hope  —  Minor  and  relative  ideals  contribute  to 
the  fulness  of  the  complete  hope — Unique  hope  in  history — The  Divine 
Man  a  fulfilment  of  multitudinous  foreshadovvings. 

The  beginning  of  the  coming  of  the  Christ  must  be  looked  for 
where  there  is  no  beginning,  in  the  eternal  thought  of  the  bosom 
of  God.  The  Lamb  was  slain,  and,  if  slain,  sent,  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world.  The  protevangelium,  or  primal 
germinal  gospel,  is  contained  in  the  first  word  of  Divine  revela- 
tion. The  gospel  of  hope  is  contained  in  the  promise  of  the 
victorious  seed  of  the  woman.  The  gospel  of  suffering  con- 
quest is  implicitly  foreshadowed  in  the  vision  of  conflict  with 
the  Serpent.  From  the  world-wide  family  of  the  woman  to  the 
seed  of  Shem  according  to  the  blessing  of  Noah  passes  the 
first  Divine  specialization,  or  selection  of  grace.  From  the  race 
of  Shem  the  Divine  finger  points  to  the  family  of  Abraham,  the 
servant  of  the  Lord.  In  the  father  of  the  faithful  a  Messianic 
person  as  well  as  a  Messianic  nation  is  distinctly  foreshadowed. 
Abraham's  character  forms  an  important  stage  in  the  ethical 
development  of  the  Messianic  idea.  For  his  faith  became  the 
model  of  all  faith.     His  character  as  the  servant  of  God  estab- 


TO  JESUS  CHRIST. 

lished  a  spiritual  idea.  Such  a  faith  could  never  die  out  of  the 
world  for  ever.  Abraham  was  justified  by  faith.  The  gospel 
of  justification  by  faith  in  Christ  underlay,  as  it  preceded,  the 
law,  and  was  never  disestablished.  The  spiritual  forward- 
looking  and  upward-looking  faith  of  the  father  of  the  faithful 
constituted  a  moment  in  the  spiritual  history  of  a  world, 
desiring  redemption,  peace  with  God,  reconciliation  internal 
and  external. 

Moses  is  the  next  link  in  the  chain  of  purposive  selection- 
The  Lawgiver  himself  is  a  suggestive  type  emphasized  by  his 
own  promise  of  a  greater  Prophet  than  himself.  The  Mosaic 
legislation  is  a  new  departure  in  the  Messianic  development. 
Floods  of  light  converge  upon  the  Promise  of  the  ages.  The 
laws,  the  worship,  the  institutions  of  Israel  moved  towards  one 
central  hope,  the  Ideal  Servant  of  the  Lord,'  the  ideal  sacrifice, 
the  ideal  priest,  the  ideal  teacher  and  lawgiver.  However  im- 
perfectly realized  the  Ideal  Sufferer  was  with  graduated  distinct- 
ness typefied.  Judges  and  rulers  paved  the  way  for  a  single 
ruler,  and  suggested  the  heroism,  the  manliness,  the  conquering 
majesty,  which  should  be  finally  embodied  in  the  fulness  of  the 
Divine  formula,  the  Son  of  Man. 

Great  characters,  great  national  movements,  evoke  and  inter- 
pret great  ideas.  As  the  fortunes  and  dignities  of  Israel  rose 
the  ideals  of  Israel  ascended. 

From  the  house  of  Israel  the  differentiating  energy  of  the 
Lord  selects  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and  from  the  tribe  of  Judah  the 
family  of  David.  The  prophecy  of  Nathan  is  the  next  landmark 
in  Messianic  development.  The  hope  of  Israel  is  a  royal  hope. 
The  person  of  the  Messiah  is  brightening  into  a  clearer  splen- 
dour. The  anointed  of  the  Eternal  wears  a  Davidic  crown. 
The  servant  of  the  Lord  is  a  sovereign  of  man.  The  Messianic 
idea  and  the  Messianic  ideal  step  by  step,  subject  to  relapse 
and  retrogression,  become  fuller,  more  definite,  more  concrete  ; 
not  shadowy  abstractions,  nor  hazy  poet  dreams.  From  first  to 
last  the  personal  and  impersonal  elements  are  interwoven  ;  the 
Messiah  and  the  nation  blend  in  though  and  feeling  never 
wholly  distinguishable.  All  Israel  is  ideally  a  kingdom  of 
priests,  a  holy  nation,  a  Messianic  body  ;  and  remains  so  to  the 
last  breath  of  prophecy  and  to  the  post-canonical  vaticinations. 

'■  Cf.  Edersheim,  "  Prophecy  and  History  in  relation  to  the  Messiah  " 
(p.  187)  on  "  The  Ideal  Destiny  of  Israel."' 


THE    MESSIANIC    HOPE    WITHIN    TJIE   CANON.  H 

God  uses  every  national  development  to  advance  spiritual 
development.  Slowly,  but  surely,  the  links  in  the  chain  uf  the 
Divine  philosophy  of  history  unwind.  The  spirit  of  the  age  is 
moulded  to  His  own  uses  by  the  activities  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
The  monarchy  embodies  and  accentuates  the  monarchical  aspect 
of  the  Messianic  hope.  An  ideal  king,  an  ideal  kingdom, 
point  the  golden  stream.  Often  the  kingdom  is  expected  in 
the  near  future,  and  the  kingdom  is  only  a  magnified  edition 
of  known  kingdoms.  Wave  after  wave  of  disappointment  do 
not  submerge,  but  tend  to  unsecularize  the  Messianic  loyalty. 
Psalm  rolls  to  psalm  its  welcoming  "God  save  the  king"  to  the 
music  of  a  royal  march.  Deeper  down  in  the  heart  of  the 
people  sinks  and  waits  the  royal  hope.  Even  if  the  psalms 
of  the  directly  Messianic  royal  hope  be  reduced  to  but  ten  or 
eleven,  there  are  many  latent  aspirations  and  inexpressive  heart 
vaticinations  feeling  towards  this  centre.  Unquestionably  the 
royal  portrait  of  the  Messiah  was  the  most  popular  one  to  the 
end.  The  higher,  the  deeper,  sacrificial  beauties  of  life,  of 
work,  of  character,  appealed  to  the  higher  and  deeper  natures 
taught  of  God  in  the  school  of  devotion  and  sacrifice.  Power  and 
glory  are  always  worshipped  in  the  world.  Habitual  veneration 
for  power  and  domination  is  a  notable  characteristic  of  Oriental- 
ism. To  this  day  the  not  real,  but  superficial,  absence  of  power 
in  the  ethical  portrait  of  Jesus  constitutes  a  barrier  to  His 
acceptance  by  the  Indian  mind. 

The  devotional  wealth  and  pathos  of  Psalms,  un-Messianic  or 
unconsciously  Messianic,  must  have  gradually  uplifted  the  con- 
sciences of  worshippers.  Much  of  spiritual,  as  of  all  education, 
comes  from  unnoticed  surrounding  and  secret  impalpable  forces. 
Worship,  rightly  used,  is  a  supreme  spiritual  educator.  The 
Temple  feasts,  the  private  sacrifices,  the  secret  prayers  of  such 
as  the  seven  thousand  in  Israel  who  bowed  not  to  Baal,  the  rich 
incense  of  family  devotions,  kept  alive  among  the  purer  the  fire 
of  spiritual  worship.  The  sense  of  worship  reacted  upon  the 
conscience,  and  all  the  moral  life,  filling  hearts  with  awe  and 
the  consciousness  of  responsibility,  the  sense  of  sin  and  the 
need  of  expiation,  to  which  sacrifices  gave  the  deepest  ex- 
pression. 

The  monarchical  ideal  remained  an  unfulfilled  hope,  a  chronic 
disappointment,  but  an  unappeasable  undying  desire.  Prophecy 
sustained  the  royal  hope  through  evil  report  and  through  good 


J 2  JESUS    CHRIST. 

report.  "Afterward  shall  the  children  of  Israel  return,  and 
seek  the  Lord  their  God,  and  David  their  king,'  and  shall  come 
with  fear  unto  the  Lord  and  to  His  goodness  in  the  latter  days  " 
(iii.  4,  5,  R.V.),  says  Hosea,  after  affirming  that  "  the  children 
of  Israel  shall  abide  many  days  without  king,  and  without 
prince  "  (i.  lo  ;  ii.  23),  and  he  promises  ingathering  mercy  to  the 
Gentiles.  "  Behold  the  days  come,"  said  Jeremiah,  "saith  the 
Lord,  that  I  will  raise  unto  David  a  righteous  Branch,  and  he 
shall  reign  as  king  and  deal  wisely,  and  shall  execute  judgment 
and  justice  in  the  land.  .  .  .  And  this  is  his  name  whereby  he 
shall  be  called,  The  Lord  is  our  righteousness  "  (xxiii.  5,  6,  cf.  ; 
XXX.  9).  Ezekiel  sung  the  same  song  of  hope  :  "  And  I  the 
Lord  will  be  their  God,  and  my  servant  David  prince  among 
them,  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  it  "  (xxxiv.  24)  ;  again,  "  and 
David  my  servant  shall  be  their  prince  for  ever"  (xxxvii.  25). 
And  whatever  date  be  assigned  to  the  remarkable  apocalypse  of 
Daniel  the  figure  of  the  Prince  Messiah  is  clearly  projected. 

Even  in  prophecies  less  directly  Messianic,  glowing  hopes  and 
longings  find  expression,  or  were  characteristic  of  some  whom 
the  prophet  knew.  "  The  day  of  Jehovah  "  as  early  as  the  time 
of  Amos  had  become  a  definite  goal  of  aspiration.  Such 
language  would  take  shape  and  colour  in  more  definite  outlines 
as  the  connection  of  the  future  age  with  a  single  Personality  be- 
came more  clearly  understood,  and  would  contribute  to  bathe 
His  coming  with  associations  of  glory  and  awe. 

But  a  new  and  more  momentous  contribution  was  made  by 
prophecy  to  the  conception  of  the  Messianic  Hope  in  its 
portraiture  of  the  suffering  Servant  of  God.  The  idea  of 
the  Servant  of  God,  like  that  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  per- 
vades the  whole  Old  Testament.  Israel  as  a  people, 
Israel's  rulers,  kings,  prophets,  priests,  were  ideally  servants 
of  the  Lord.  But  it  was  reserved  for  prophecy  to  fill  in  the 
colours,  and  fit  on  the  framework,  to  preliminary  sketches. 
The  prophets  had  admittedly  contemporaneous  relations,  and  a 
historical  basis.  But  the  portrait  of  the  Suffering  Servant  finds 
no  original  before  the  time  of  its  fulfilment.  The  germs  of  the 
idea  are  to  be  found  in  the  Passion  Psalms,  such  as  the  twenty- 
second.  The  Psalmist  may  have,  at  times,  idealized  his  own 
sufferings,  but  he  spake  in  the  Spirit,  and  his  winged  words  went 

«  "The  older  Jews,  of  every  school,  Talmudic,  mystical,  Biblical,  gram  ■ 
matical,  explained  this  prophecy  of  Christ  "  (Pusey,  s.i.). 


THE  MESSIANIC  HOPE    WITHIN   THE  CANON.  1 3 

farther  than  his  own  horizon,  and  consciously  travelled  to 
infinite  goals.  The  sufterings  of  psalmists  and  prophets,  the 
sufferings  of  Israel  gave  additional  intensity  of  feeling  and 
vividness  of  realization  to  a  conception  already  foreshadowed 
in  the  primal  promise,  and  in  the  intimation  of  the  Egyptian 
bondage  of  his  seed  to  Abraham,  and  in  that  bondage 
itself,  and  in  all  the  pre-Messianic  sutferings  of  the  servants  of 
God. 

Isaiah '  is  the  richest  treasury  of  Messianic  prophecy,  and 
the  largest  contributor  both  to  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  the  pre- 
dicted Messianic  life.  Isaiah's  prophecy  of  the  Servant  of  God 
is  complete  in  its  wealth  of  pathetic  detail  too  familiar  to  need 
illustration.  It  is  an  "  archetypal  Sorrow,"  an  impersonated 
Anguish,  which  appears  before  him.  Yet  his  "internal  pro- 
gramme" is  gorgeous  with  triumph,  and  radiant  with  victorious 
hope.  And  he  sees  more  clearly  than  any.  what  Psalmists  at 
times  apprehend,  the  universal  relations  of  His  royalty.  "  He 
will  be  the  rallying  point  of  the  world's  hopes,  the  true  centre  of 
its  government"  (xi.  10).*  The  conceptions  of  Isaiah  foreshadow 
a  superhuman  being.  His  language  attributes  Divinity  to 
Messiah.  He  is  to  Isaiah,  however  far  his  vision  soared 
beyond  the  flights  of  ordinary  contemporaneous  aspiration, 
"The  Mighty  God"  (ix.  6),  as  Jeremiah  in  the  passage  already 
quoted  identifies  Him  with  Jehovah  (xxiii.  5,  6). 

The  chastisement  of  the  Captivity  touched  with  a  new  pathos 
the  traditional  hope.  And  "  while  the  Messianic  ideas  were 
growing  in  spirituality,  they  were  also  increasing  in  influence. 
This  is  the  most  characteristic  note  of  the  new  age.  The 
Messianic  ideas  were  popularized.  Hitherto  they  were  the  hopes 
of  the  prophets  ;  now  they  became  the  hopes  of  the  people."  ^ 
Haggai  contributed  to  the  Messianic  hope  the  remarkable 
prophecy  "  of  the  latter  glory  of  this  house  "  (ii.  6-9).  Zechariah 
announces  definitely  :  "And  many  nations  shall  join  themselves 
to  the  Lord  in  that  day,  and  shall  be  My  people  "  (ii.  11)  ;  and 
identifies  the  One  "  whom  they  have  pierced "  v.'ith  Jehovah 
Himself.  Malachi  closes  the  Canon  with  mingled  promises  and 

*  The  question  of  a  second  Isaiah,  or  Great  Unknown,  need  not  here  be 
discussed.  The  outlines  of  the  Messianic  portrait  remain  the  same,  how- 
ever many  hands  may  (or  may  not)  have  held  the  brush. 

»  H.  P.  Liddon,  Bampton,  p.  84. 

3  W.  F.  Adeney,  "  The  Hebrew  Utopia,"  p.  295. 


14  JESUS   CHRIST. 

warnings  clustering  round  the  rising  of  the  Sun  of  righteous 
ness,  and  the  mission  of  Elijah  the  prophet  (iv.  i-end). 

The  monarch,  the  prophet,  brought  various  lights,  and  em- 
bodiments of  attributes,  to  the  fulness  of  the  Messianic  concep- 
tion. Had  the  priesthood  of  Israel  no  relation  to  the  blessed 
Hope  ?  Indirectly,  or  directly,  we  can  trace  a  priestly  element 
in  the  Messianic  ideal.  Indirectly  in  the  stamp  of  holiness.  To 
adopt  Kuenen's  words,'  without  his  conclusions.  "  '  Be  holy,  for 
I,  Yahweh,  am  holy'  (Lev.  xix.  2  ;  xx.  7,  26,  cf.  24  ;  xxi.  8,  15, 
23  ;  xxii.  9,  16,  32  ;  xi.  44,  45  ;  Numb.  xv.  40,  41).  In  these 
words  the  priestly  thorah  itself  sums  up  its  conception  of 
religion.  It  is  with  this  demand  that  it  comes  to  the  whole 
people  and  to  every  several  Israelite.  .  .  .  The  centre  of  gravity 
for  him  lies  elsewhere  than  for  the  prophet  ;  it  lies  in  man's 
attitude  not  towards  his  fellow-man,  but  towards  God  ;  not  in  his 
social,  but  in  his  personal  life."  A  second  mark  of  the  priestly 
ideal  "  may  be  found  in  the  assumption  of  worship  amongst  the 
duties  of  the  people  consecrated  to  Yahweh,  and  of  every 
Israelite  in  particular."  Such  a  deeply-rooted  feeling  could  not 
be  satisfied  with  anything  short  of  a  Priest,  as  well  as  a  Prophet, 
Messiah.  But  the  conception  of  His  priesthood  was  latent 
rather  than  explicit.  The  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  Psalm,  a 
Messianic  Psalm  of  David,  to  which  Christ  Himself  referred 
His  objectors,  declares — 

"  The  Lord  hath  sworn,  and  will  not  repent, 
Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever 
After  the  order  of  Melchizedek." 

In  Psalm  cxxxii.  the  anointed,  the  Heir  of  David,  the  Lord's  Ser- 
vant, "wears  not  the  kingly  crown  (^?7(!';7?/;),  but  the  priestly 
{itezer),  with  its  golden  plate  or  flower  {tsits).^''  ^  Zechariah  pre- 
dicts the  Lord's  Servant,  the  Branch,  who  "shall  sit  and  rule 
upon  his  throne  and  be  a  priest  upon  his  throne." 

Such  conceptions  must  have  prepared  the  way  for  the  full 
Christian  doctrine  of  the  Priesthood  of  Messiah  unfolded  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  Nor  can  there  have  been  wholly  want- 
ing in  Israel  men  like  Zacharias,  the  spiritual  forefathers  of  the 
great  company  of  the  priests  who  became  obedient  to  the  faith, 

•  Hibbert  Lectures,  p.  160  foil. 

*  "Church  Quarterly  Review,"  No.  51,  p.  112. 


THE    MKSSIANIC    HOPE    WIIHIX    THii   CANOxX.  IJ 

men  who  hid  risen  in  some  degree  to  the  purpose  of  tlie  Divine 
election,  and  were  recognizably  in  life  and  heart  as  well  as  ex- 
ternal communion  with  God,  those  "  whom  He  hath  chosen," 
those  "  who  are  His,"  who  are  "holy,"  whom  He  "  will  cause  to 
come  near  unto  Him"  (Num.  xvi.  5).  Such  men  could  not  but 
raise  the  standards  of  holiness.  Such  men  could  not  but  suggest 
an  ideal  Holy  Priest,  who  should  show  forth  their  holiness, 
while  He  transcended  and  ennobled  it.  And  so  the  stock  of 
Aaron  would  prepare  for  the  Priest  not  of  their  order,  but 
of  Melchizedek's.  In  the  wonderful  Messianic  chapter  of  Jere- 
miah predicting  the  Branch  of  righteousness,  the  prophet  con- 
nects the  promise  of  a  perpetual  priesthood  with  that  of  a  per- 
petual throne.  Both  are  put  on  the  same  level  ;  and  the  former, 
the  covenant  of  priesthood  is  repeated  several  times.  Jeremiah 
does  not  suggest  that  "  David  My  servant "  would  also  be 
"  David  My  priest."  But  his  words  must  have  gone  far  towards 
universalizing  the  conception  of  the  priesthood,  and  extending 
its  functions  into  the  infinite  distance. 

Ezekiel  the  priest  in  his  apocalypse  of  the  glorified  temple 
and  service  shows  the  priestly  bias  and  prepares  the  way  for  an 
ideal  worship  and  priesthood. 

The  place  of  worship  in  the  devotional  preparation  of  the 
people  and  in  the  moral  education  of  the  conscience  has  been 
alluded  to  already.  And  we  may  add,  in  connection  with  the 
development  of  the  priestly  aspect  of  the  Messianic  ideal,  that 
"we  find  from  beginning  to  end  the  deep  impress  of  a  sacri- 
ficial system  which  must  have  been  unmeaning  and  self-imposed, 
and  is  consequently  an  unexplained  phenomenon  in  history  if 
it  did  not  lead  upward  and  point  onward  to  the  perfect  priest- 
hood and  sacrifice  of  One"'  "who  hath  been  made,  not  after 
the  law  of  a  carnal  commandment,  but  after  the  power  of  an 
endless  life"  (Heb.  vii.  16).  That  these  sacrifices  led  up  to,  and 
were  fulfilled  in,  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  seems  to  the  Christian 
as  undeniable  as  the  historic  fact  that  since  that  one  Sacrifice 
for  sins  for  ever  "  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats  "  has  ceased  to 
flow. 

To  the  eye  of  Christian  faith  the  stream  of  Messianic  pro- 
phecy deepened  and  widened  through  the  ages.  Many  con- 
ceptions, primary  and   secondary,  direct   and   typical,  poured 

»  Professor  Leathes'  "  Religion  of  tlie  Christ,"  p.  92. 


l6  JtSUS   CHRIST. 

into  the  quickening  waters  their  various  and  enriching  deposits 
The  figui-e  of  the  Christ  becomes  more  concrete,  more  definite. 
The  Ideal  takes  up  within  Himself  all  the  ideals  of  prophet  and 
priest  and  king.  Every  relative  revelation  contributed  its  sub- 
scription to  the  sum  total.  The  temperaments  of  the  prophets, 
the  spiritual  characteristics  of  psalmists,  the  surrounding  con- 
ditions of  the  social  and  religious  atmosphere  bathed  the  coming 
age  and  man  in  a  thousand  lights,  many  coloured,  and  variable 
from  age  to  age,  and  from  mind  to  mind.  "  But  on  the  whole 
there  is  a  wonderful  continuity  and  persistence  in  the  stream 
of  prophecy  which  flows  down  the  ages,"  '  and  an  internal  con- 
sistency. The  various  elements  harmonize  in  a  most  complex 
and  intricate  concord  of  Divine  music.  Even  a  modern  Jewish 
Rabbi ^  affirms  that  "the  doctrine  of  the  coming  of  a  personal 
Messiah  is  the  purple  thread  that  runs  through  the  writing  of 
our  prophets  and  historians."  And  "  one  of  the  thirteen  funda- 
mental articles  of  faith,  which  every  Israelite  is  enjoined  to 
rehearse  daily,  is,  '  I  believe  with  a  perfect  heart  that  the 
Messiah  will  come  ;  and  although  His  coming  be  delayed,  I 
will  wait  patiently  for  His  speedy  appearance."' ^  The  very 
possession  of  this  splendid  hope  is  an  unique  fact  in  the  history 
and  literature  of  nations.  Its  vitality,  its  colour,  its  imperishable 
interest,  its  indestructibility,  are  evidenced  through  all  the  rises 
and  falls,  changes  and  chances,  which  embarrassed  or  assisted 
its  fulfilment. 

And  so  the  Ideal  Divine  Man  was  foreshadowed.  And  the 
prayers  of  the  righteous  were  a  factor  in  the  Divine  develop- 
ment no  one  can  recover  from  the  higher  side  of  history,  that 
of  the  unseen.  "  Each  victory,  each  deliverance,  prefigured 
Messiah's  work ;  each  saint,  each  hero  foreshadowed  some 
separate  ray  of  His  personal  glory  ;  each  disaster  gave  strength 
to  the  mighty  cry  for  His  intervention;  He  was  the  true  soul 
of  the  history,  as  well  as  of  the  poetry  and  prophecy  of  Israel."* 
And  the  ideals,  dimmer,  but  indestructible,  outside  the  chosen 
people  shed  their  lustre,  or  moved  moral  desire,  onward  and 
upward.     Using  "sculptors"  and  "painters"  in  the  sense  of 


«  W.  F.  Adeney. 

=  Adler's  "Course  of  Sermons,"  pp.  125,  126,  quoted  by  Gloag,  "Mes- 
sianic Prophecy,"  p.  81.  3  Gloag,  s.  L 
*  Dr.  Liddon,  Bampton  Lectures,  p.  92. 


THE   MESSIANIC    HOPE   WITHIN    THE   CANON.  1/ 

moral  and  spiritual  art  workers,  we  may  adopt  the  noble  lines 
of  a  modern  poet : 

•*  All  partial  beauty  was  a  pledge 
Of  beauty  in  its  plenitude  .  .  . 
The  one  form  with  its  single  act, 
Which  sculptors  laboured  to  abstract, 
The  one  face,  painters  tried  to  draw. 
With  its  one  look,  from  throngs  they  saw. 
And  that  perfection  in  their  soul, 
These  only  hinted  at?    The  whole, 
They  were  but  parts  of?"  ' 


•  R.  B.  Browning,  "Christmas  Eve  and  Easter  Day.* 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE   POST-CANONICAL   MESSIANIC   HOPE. 

"  Blessed  art  Thou,  O  Lord  our  God  and  the  God  of  our  fathers,  the 
God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob,  the  God  great 
and  powerful  and  terrible,  God  Most  High,  who  bestowest  Thy  benefits 
graciously,  the  Possessor  of  the  universe,  who  rememberest  the  good  deeds 
of  the  fathers  and  sendest  a  Redeemer  unto  their  sons'  sons  for  Thy 
Name's  sake  in  love.  Our  King,  our  Helper,  and  Saviour  and  Shield, 
blessed  art  Thou,  O  Lord,  the  Shield  of  Abraham"  (Tephillah,  "  Tlie 
Prayer,"  the  first  of  the  Eighteen  Benedictions,  translated  by  Bishop 
LiGHTFOOT,  "  Clem.  Rom."  p.  462). 

Debased  period — Hope  persistent — In  Apocrypha  impersonal  and  national 
— In  the  Apocalypses  personal  and  national — In  the  Talmud — Rab- 
binism— Christ's  work  to  re-create  and  transform  as  well  as  fulfil  the 
Messianic  Ideal — What  might  have  been. 

We  enter  now  upon  a  different  phase  of  the  Messianic  develop- 
ment. It  is  in  some  respects  retrogressive.  The  debased 
period  of  Messianic  architecture  has  arrived.  But  we  have  the 
clearest  historic  evidence  that  the  hope  of  hopes  had  not 
withered  away.  Indeed  if  it  had,  we  should  have  found  ourselves, 
first,  in  alisolute  collision  with  the  Gospels  and  Josephus  and 
secular  historians,  which  show  a  very  vivid  and  widely  existing 
worlcing  of  the  hope  in  all  classes,  and  beyond  Palestine  ;  and 
secondly,  in  absolute  collision  with  all  doctrines  of  development 
which  look  for  great  effects  in  the  operation  of  an  antecedent 
concourse  of  progressive  causes  ;  so  that  Christ  and  His  dis- 
ciples would  have  first  had  to  manufacture  a  Messianic  idea 
and  permeate  the  nation  with  it,  and  then  claim  to  satisfy  it. 
Adequate  data  are  preserved  to  indicate,  not  as  fully  and  clearly 
as  would  be  desirable,  but  with  sufficient  fulness  for  historical 


THE   POST-CANONICAL  MESSIANIC   HOPE.  19 

requirements,  the  persistence  of  the  Messianic  hope  outside  the 
limits  of  canonical  history.  The  age  of  the  Apocalypses  suc- 
ceeds the  age  of  the  prophets.  The  disintegration  of  the  his- 
torical life  of  the  nation  encouraged  supra-historical  tendencies. 
The  imagination  ran  after  ideals  when  the  school  of  reality 
shut  so  many  doors  to  hope.  In  a  similar  way  peoples  who 
have  enjoyed  a  very  small  measure  of  political  freedom  have 
sometimes  shown  an  extraordinary  tendency  to  free  speculation 
and  audacities  of  mental  venture. 

We  come  first,  for  convenience  of  arrangement,  in  contact 
with  the  Apocryphal  books,  Palestinian  and  Grecian,  which 
are  of  very  various  dates.  It  is  in  vain  here  that  we  look  for  a 
personal  Messiah.  Messianic  hopes  are  vague  and  impersonal. 
There  is,  however,  nothing  irreconcilable  with  a  personal 
Messianic  hope.  Indeed  the  Messianic  times  and  a  Judaic 
kingdom  are  the  undercurrent  of  all  Apocryphal  aspiration. 
And  there  are  various  elements  which  survive  of  the  older  hope, 
but  narrowed,  nationalized,  and  distorted.  The  oldest  of  the 
Palestinian  books  is  the  Wisdom  of  Jesus  ben  Sirach,  or 
Ecclesiasticus.  Here  we  find  glimpses  of  an  everlasting  priest- 
hood, "Moses  consecrated  him"  (Aaron),  and  anointed  him 
with  holy  oil  ;  this  was  appointed  unto  him  by  an  everlasting 
covenant,  and  to  his  seed,  so  long  as  the  heavens  should  re- 
main," &c.  (xlv.  15).  So  again  of  "an  holy  temple  to  the  Lord 
which  was  prepared  for  everlasting  glory"  (xlix.  12). 

In  the  Book  of  Tobit  (xiii.  16,  18)  we  hear  of  a  Jerusalem 
rebuilt  with  sapphires,  and  emeralds,  and  precious  stone,"  all 
whose  "  streets  shall  say  Alleluia,"  and  that  "  all  nations  shall 
turn,  and  fear  the  Lord  God  truly,  and  shall  bury  their  idols. 
So  shall  all  nations  praise  the  Lord,"  &c.  (xiv.  6,  7).  In  the 
beautiful  Book  of  Wisdom  placed  by  some  at  about  150  B c, 
which  however  may  be  of  Christian  date,  we  read  of  the 
righteous — "they  shall  judge  the  nations,  and  have  dominion 
over  the  people,  and  their  Lord  shall  reign  for  ever."  In 
I  Maccabees  hints  appear  of  a  coming  "faithful  prophet" 
(iv.  46;  xiv.  41).  In  2  Maccabees  the  dim  but  remarkable  hope 
that  God,  "as  He  promised  in  the  law,  will  shortly  have  mercy 
upon  us,  and  gather  us  together  out  of  every  land  under  heaven 
into  the  holy  place"  (ii.  18).  In  Baruch  the  burden  is  "Take 
a  good  heart,  O  Jerusalem  "  (iv.  30).  Alike  in  Ecclesiasticus 
(xxxvi.  I-  17),  in  Baruch  (iv.),  and  in  Tobit  (xiii.   14),  national 


20  JESUS   CHRIST. 

prospects,  national  exaltation,  and  Gentile  depression,  are  the 
prominent  landmarks  in  the  far,  or  near,  distances. 

But  we  have  other  documents  of  the  post-canonical  period 
which  are  much  richer  in  Messianic  colouring.  The  Apocalypses 
distinctly  pre-intimate  a  personal  Messiah. 

In  the  most  ancient  pre-Christian  fragment  of  the  Jewish 
Sibylline  verses,  a  famous  passage  speaks  of  the  coming  of  a 
king  from  the  sun,'  cnr'  r/eXioio: 

"  Then  shall  God  send  a  king  from  the  Sun,  who  shall  cause 
the  whole  earth  to  cease  from  wicked  war,  when  he  has  slain 
some  and  exacted  faithful  oaths  from  others.  Neither  shall  he 
do  all  these  things  of  his  own  counsel,  but  in  obedience  to  the 
beneficent  decrees  of  the  Most  High."* 

And  again  in  the  later,  but  pre-Christian  fragment  : 

"  But  when  Rome  shall  rule  over  Egypt  also,  uniting  it  under 
one  yoke,  then  indeed  the  supreme  kin.t^dom  of  the  King  Im- 
mortal shall  appear  among  men.  And  there  shall  come  a  pure 
king  to  hold  the  sceptres  of  the  whole  earth  for  ever  and  ever 
as  time  rolls  on."' 

In  the  pre-Christian  portion  of  the  Book  of  Enoch  (here,  as 
before,  we  refer  to  the  critical  editors  for  the  chronological  and 
textual  questions,  and  adopt  only  probable  conclusions),  we  find 
most  important  Messianic  contributions.  Here  there  is  the 
remarkable  apocalypse  of  the  white  bullock  : 

"  And  I  saw  that  a  white  ox  was  born,  having  great  horns, 
and  all  the  beasts  of  the  field  and  all  birds  of  the  air  feared  him 
and  prayed  to  him  continually." 

In  the  Book  of  the  Three  Parables  the  Messiah  is  repeatedly 
called  the  "  Son  of  Man  ; "  but  the  expression  sounds  like  a 
Jewish  Christian  insertion. 

1  he  Fourth  Book  of  Esdras  is  supposed  by  some  to  be  pre- 
Christian,  but  more  probably  dates  from  the  reign  of  Domitian. 
The  .Apocalypse  of  Baruch  is  also  too  late  to  be  pre-Christian. 

But  in  the  beautiful,  so-called  Psalter  of  Solomon  we  are  in 

*  Better  than  as  Schurer,  "  from  the  East.*' 
•  Stanton,  p.  114.  3. Ibid.,  p.  117. 


THE   POST-CANONICAL   MESSIANIC    HOPE.  21 

the  presence  of  undoubted  pre-Christian  documentary  evidence 
to  the  Messianic  Hope. 

The  desolation  of  Jerusalem,  the  dispersion  of  the  "holy 
people,"  and  God's  encouraging  promises  to  them  form  the 
subject  of  a  book,  which  both  in  its  loftiness  of  moral  beauty  and 
literary  skill  '•  has  remarkably  caught  the  tone  of  some  of  the 
noblest  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament." '  The  date  is 
probably  the  time  of  Pompey's  capture  of  Jerusalem,  The 
great  Messianic  passage  is  from  xvii.  23  to  xviii.  fin.  ;  and 
herein  is  found  the  specific  use,  some  consider  the  first,  of  the 
term  Christ  as  the  title  of  One  to  come.  A  fragment  only  may 
here  be  briefly  rendered  from  Hilgenft-ld's  text  : 

"  Behold,  Lord,  and  raise  up  unto  them  their  king,  the  son  of 
David,  in  the  time  which  Thou,  God,  knowest,  to  reign  over  Thy 
servant  Israel.  .  .  .  And  he  shall  gather  together  an  holy 
people,  whom  he  shall  lead  in  righteousness,  and  shall  judge 
the  tribes  of  the  people  sanctified  by  the  Lord  their  God.  .  .  . 
And  there  is  no  unrighteousness  in  his  days  in  their  midst,  for 
all  are  holy,  and  their  King  is  the  Lord  Christ.  .  .  .  And  he  is 
pure  from  sin,  to  rule  a  great  people,  rebuke  rulers,  and  destroy 
sinners  in  strength  of  word.  .  .  .  Shepherding  the  flock  of  the 
Lord  in  faith  and  righteousness,  and  he  shall  not  suffer  them 
to  be  weak  in  their  pasture.  .  .  .  Under  the  rod  of  chastening 
of  the  Lord  Christ  ..." 

The  Assumption  of  Moses,  and  the  Book  of  Jubilees,  of 
doubtful  date,  the  former  placed  by  Schiirer  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  era,  contain  no  Messianic  King  but  general  out- 
lines of  a  blessed  future. 

In  the  great  Hellenised  thinker,  Philo,  we  seem  to  find  no 
prominent  traces  of  a  Messianic  King — a  possible  suppression 
of  conviction  upon  political  grounds — but  a  God-sent  warlike 
hero  does  appear,  though  the  Messianic  hopes  find  expression 
more  in  a  picture  of  a  national  restoration  of  glory  and  great- 
ness. 

Josephus,  like  Philo,  is  of  the  first  century  A.D.  He  so  far 
apostatized  from  the  national  hope  as  to  apply  Messianic  pro- 
phecies to  Vespasian.  But  his  pages  overflow  with  testimony 
to  the  presence  and  intensity  of  the  hope  amongst  the  people, 
and  its  influence  upon  the  rebellion  against  Rome. 
'  Stanton,  p.  77. 


21  JESUS  CHRIST; 

Jewish  works  written  after  the  Christian  era  are  coloured  by 
the  violence  of  the  anti-Christian  controversy.  But  they  clearly 
representjewishtraclitional  views,  however  modified  by  the  impact 
with  Christian  thought.  Mr.  Stanton  seems  to  unduly  minimize 
the  evidential  value  of  Talmudical  literature.  That  literature 
is  so  strictly  traditional,  so  substantially  self-consistent  in  spirit, 
and  so  clearly  a  development  of  the  debased  Judaism,  that  it 
is  unhistorical  to  ignore  its  evidential  validity.  Very  full  treat- 
ment of  the  Rabbinical  expectations  must  be  sought  in  Eder- 
sheim's  wealth  of  quotations.  These  point  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  Rabbinical  Messiah  was  a  super-human  man,  hovering 
between  Divinity  and  humanity,  higher  than  the  angels,  existing 
before  the  world.  They  indicate  also  a  "character  of  finality  "  ' 
in  His  work  and  office  which  would  assist  minds  towards  a 
belief  in  His  super-human  greatness,  in  His  essential  Divinity. 

The  contrast  upon  merely  literary  comparison  between  the 
canonical  and  post-canonical  literature  is  striking.  Even  Jose- 
phus  follows  "  the  uniform  Jewish  tradition  totheeffiect  that  the 
prophetic  succession  ceased  with  Malachi,  and  marks  the  time 
of  Artaxerxes  as  the  limit  of  the  period  of  inspiration."" 

With  the  ebb  of  the  prophetic  spirit  had  drifted  away  the 
glory  and  spiritual  beauty  of  the  Scriptural  Messianic  Ideal. 
From  the  rich  creativeness,  both  in  literary  art  and  spiiitual 
science,  of  the  God-gified  members  of  the  goodly  fellowship  of 
the  prophets,  religious  literature  sunk  for  the  most  part  into  the 
hands  of  the  Sopherim,  and  religious  life  under  the  guidance  of 
the  late-born  sect  of  the  Pharisees. 

The  great  fact  in  the  religious  condition  of  Israel  at  the  time 
of  Messiah's  Advent  was  the  dominance  of  Rabbinism.  The 
religious  post-exilian  revival  lacked  the  breath  and  health  of 
inspired  movement.  Palestinian  Judaism  sank  into  narrow 
legal  sectarianism.  The  letter  of  the  Law  became  a  religious 
fetish  after  the  spirit  had  been  quenched.  Foreign  subjugations 
drove  the  Palestinian  Jews  more  into  themselves  religiously. 
Hellenism,  and  the  intellectual  breadth  and  general  culture 
which  accompanied  it,  exerci'^ed  the  greatest  influence  upon  the 
Jewish  dispersion,  who  formed  the  majority  of  the  nation,  and 
especially   upon    the   western   diaspora,   both   negatively   and 

'  Stanton,  p.  148. 

■  "Josephus,"  in  Smith's  "  Dictionary  of  Christian  Biography,"  article  by 
Dr.  Edersheim. 


THE   POST-CANONICAL   MESSIANIC   HOPE.  23 

positively  made  important  contributions  to  preparedness  for  the 
new  revelation.  But  in  Palestine,  "  the  land,"  as  Jewish  pride 
called  it,  Hellenism,  while  affecting  commercial  life  and  industry 
among-  the  middle  classes,  while  attracting  and  often  altogether 
secularizing  and  half-paganizing  rulers  of  the  Herodian  School, 
and  the  wealthy  and  powerful  Sadducee  faction,  made  no  im- 
pression upon  the  dominant  and  popular  religious  feeling. 
Pharisaism,  through  its  organ,  the  Synagogue,  controlled  all  the 
religion  of  the  most  religious  of  peoples.  The  Scribes  and 
Pharisees  had  succeeded  to  the  spiritual  and  intellectual 
supremacy  of  the  prophets.  The  priests,  under  such  secularized 
leaders  as  the  tools  of  the  Roman  Government,  who  dishonoured 
the  pontificate  and  turned  it  into  a  source  of  personal  gain  and 
political  and  social  power,  had  but  little  religious 'influence. 
Their  lips  had  ceased  to  keep  knowledge  ;  and  men  would  not 
seek  the  Law  at  the  mouth  of  the  son  of  Levi,  but  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Rabbi. 

The  Sopherim,  or  Scribes,  were  the  professional  doctors  of 
the  Law  ;  they  held  the  key  of  knowledge.  The  Pharisees  were 
their  disciples,  "who  put  their  theory  into  practice.  If  the  Scribes 
consecrated  themselves  wholly  to  the  study  of  the  Law  and  its 
application  to  life,  or  more  truly  to  the  subjection  of  the  life  of 
the  people  in  all  its  branches  to  the  precepts  of  the  Law,  the 
Pharisees  are  absorbed  in  its  observance  and  in  the  realization 
of  righteousness,  regarded  as  conformity  to  its  ordinances."  ' 
The  Scribes  sat  with  the  chief  priests  and  elders  as  judges  in 
the  ecclesiastical  courts,  both  in  the  capital  and  in  the  provinces. 
Even  in  heaven  they  claimed  posts  of  supreme  honour,  the 
flatteries  of  the  angels,  and  the  eulogies  of  God.  Religion 
under  their  influence  became  a  profession  ;  the  conduct  of  life 
a  high  art.  "  To  know  the  six  hundred  and  thirteen  command- 
ments of  the  written  Law,  the  incalculable  number  pf  the  un- 
written,"^ was  the  province  of  the  elect. 

When  we  wonder  at  the  subjection  of  the  common  people 
(the  Am-ha-arets)  to  the  Rabbis  we  have  to  bear  in  mind  that 
no  such  thing  as  individualism  could  exist,  or  ever  did  exist 
except  among  the  select  few,  in  any  ancient  people.  The  sense 
of  individual  freedom  and  independence  and  moral  and  intel- 

'  Kuenen,  p.  208,  Hihbert  Lecture?;. 

*  Wcllliauscn,  "  History  of  Israel,"  p.  502. 


24  JESUS  CHRIST. 

lectual  responsibility  is  of  modern  and,  above  all,  of  Christian 
extraction  and  growth.  The  very  word  conscience  is  practi- 
cally speaking  of  Christian  birth  and  education  ;  though  the 
moral  feeling  it  certifies  aad  conveys  of  course  is  coextensive 
with  human  nature  down  to  the  most  degraded  types  in  some 
form  or  other. 

Again  the  material  interests  of  the  people  followed  in  the 
wake  of  those  of  the  rulers.  This  is  true  to  some  degree,  even 
under  modern  conditions.  And  the  material  power  and  pros- 
perity of  the  lime  lay  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  Sadducees  and 
Romanisers,who  for  religious  purposessupported  the  Rabbinical 
party  in  opposing  a  Messiah  who  made  spiritual  claims  on 
spiritual  grounds,  and  exacted  a  corresponding  moral,  spiritual 
allegiance  from  the  heart  and  life,  instead  of  ceremonial  ad- 
hesion, or  pohtical  support.  All  the  material  influences  of  the 
time  worked  against  Christ.  We  see  it  in  the  extreme  sharp- 
ness and  decisiveness  of  His  own  words  about  the  danger  of 
riches,  and  the  hardness  with  which  rich  men  entered  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  It  is  not  always  easy  now  to  be  true  to 
Christ,  when  the  kingdoms  of  trade  and  industry,  the  acquisition 
and  distribution  of  wealth,  material  prosperity  and  social  com- 
fort, and  the  forces  of  politics,  have  bowed  to  the  sceptre  of 
Christian  influence,  and  always  nominally  in  Christian  countries, 
and,  in  part  actually,  acknowledge  His  lawful  control.  It  must 
have  been  as  hard  then  when  the  sacrifice  required  was  most 
violent  to  become  a  Christian,  as  it  is  now  for  a  modern  Jew  or 
high  caste  Hindu. 

Nor  were  the  people  intellectually  qualified  for  that  indepen- 
dence of  judgment,  which  is  so  characteristic  of  Western  indi- 
vidualism, even  without  the  basis  of  competent  knowledge. 
They  revered  the  Law,  but  could  not  read  a  word  of  it  in  the 
original  Hebrew.  The  Interpreter  must  translate  the  sacred 
lore  from  the  Hebrew  into  the  vernacular  Aramaic.  Here  he 
was  dependent  upon  the  current  interpretation  of  the  Scribes, 
and  they  upon  the  tradition  which  they  had  accumulated  and 
formulated  with  vast  labour.  So  the  Mishnah  or  Second  Law, 
"which  intended  to  explain  and  supplement  the  first,"  super- 
seded and  overrode  it.  "  This  constituted  the  only  Jewish 
dogmatics,  in  the  real  sense,  in  the  study  of  which  the 
sage,  Rabbi,  scholar,  scribe,  and  Darshan,  were  engaged." 
The  Halachah  applied  and    extinguished  while  professing  to 


THE  POST-CANONICAL  MESSIANIC  HOPE.  2$ 

interpret  the  Old  Testament.  The  Haggadah,  or  popular  ex- 
position, claimed  only  personal  authority.  "  But  all  the  greater 
would  be  its  popular  influence,  and  all  the  more  dangerous  the 
doctrinal  license  which  it  allowed."  ' 

Because  religion  had  sunk  into  externalism,  and  moral 
interests  had  been  crowded  out,  therefore  the  Messianic  ideal 
had  inevitably  fallen  with  religion.  Rabbinism  had  proclaimed 
as  its  watchword  devotion  to  the  Thorah.  Such  an  ideal  might 
have  been  nobly  conceived  and  nobly  carried  out.  Unhappily 
the  Law  had  ceased  to  be  that  of  Divine  revelation.  Tra- 
ditionalism, while  professing  to  explain,  had  actually  superseded 
the  Law.  Obedience  to  the  Law  meant  external  obedience  ;  the 
righteousness  of  the  Law  meant  external  righteousness.  The 
result  of  obedience  was  merit,  and  the  result  of  merit  sonship. 
The  Law  had  thus  lost  most  of  its  moral  content  and  force. 
Legal  holiness  had  degenerated  into  ceremonial  purity,  like 
that  of  the  Brahmin.  The  ceremonial  law  was  multiplied  into 
an  infinity  of  petty  pedantries,  pressing  upon  the  minutest 
details  of  daily  life  as  an  intolerable  yoke. 

The  favoured  ideal  of  the  Messiah  was  now  that  of  a  great 
Rabbi,  who  should  exalt  the  Law  to  its  utmost  bounds,  who  was 
also  a  great  conquering  king  who  should  impose  the  Thorah 
upon  the  necks  of  the  Gentiles,  and  the  Rabbinical  party  high 
enthroned  upon  the  heads  of  all  in  material  and  social 
supremacy. 

Jesus  Christ  had  to  chose  between  the  Scriptural  and  the 
Rabbinical  ideals.  They  were  irreconcilable,  they  were  in- 
capable of  mutual  concession,  of  modification,  or  of  transfor- 
mation. He  chose  to  revert  to  first  principles.  He  was  a 
restorer  of  the  old.  He  preserved  the  Law  by  casting  off  the 
parasitic  incubus  of  traditionalism.  He  preserved  all  that  was 
of  universal  moral  validity  in  the  old  by  transforming  it.  He 
did  not  merely  restore,  He  renewed,  re-created. 

If  Christ  had  adopted  the  Rabbinical  ideal,  He  would,  un- 
doubtedly, have  been  accepted  as  the  Jewish  Messiah.  And 
the  temptation  constantly  presented  itself  to  Him.  As  it  was, 
He  had  to  unteach  as  much  as  to  teach.  He  had  to  destroy  as 
much  as  to  build  up.  He  was  a  destructive  critic  as  well  as  a 
constructive  founder. 

We  cannot  then  admit  much  force  in  certain  modern 
'  Edersheim,  i.  ir,  12. 


26  JESUS  CHRIST. 

apologies  for  Rabbinism.  They  have,  for  the  most  part, 
naturally  emanated  from  Jewish  writers,  who  have  maintained 
their  tradition,  and  are  the  modern  representatives  of  the 
Rabbinical  schools.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  so  great  a  scholar 
as  Kuenen,'  while  keenly  criticizing  some  of  the  more  patent 
defects,  should  have  done  Rabbinism  what  seems  something 
more  than  justice.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  merits  of 
individual  Rabbis,  however  much  better  they,  or  their  disciples, 
may  have  at  times  been  than  their  creed,  the  damning  fact 
remains  that  they  were  at  the  head  and  front  of  the  anti- 
Messianic  opposition.  Although  upon  the  Sadducaic  high 
priests  rest  the  chief  guilt  of  the  national  apostasy,  consum- 
mated in  the  judicial  murder  of  the  Messiah,  yet  it  was  the 
Rabbis  who  were  the  sleepless  opponents,  the  malignant  critics, 
and  false  accusers,  in  their  consistent  hatred  of  the  Messiah  and 
all  His  words  and  works. 

The  sense  of  sin,  both  individual  and  national,  of  spiritual 
failure  and  shortcoming,  which  breathes  in  all  the  minor  keys 
of  the  Psalter,  had  amongst  all  but,  it  may  be,  a  small  remnant, 
vanished  away.  National  and  individual  pride,  externalism, 
exclusiveness,  fanaticism,  were  the  dominant  features  in  the 
character  of  pre-Christian  Israel.  Some  remnant  the  chasten- 
ing fires  of  discipline,  the  beatitudes  of  the  school  of  suffering, 
had  purified  and  prepared.  But  they  were  as  invisible  in  the 
general  mass  as  the  unseen  stars  in  the  unapproachable 
heavens.  To  such  the  sacred  music  of  the  Psalms  still  spake 
in  intelligible  accents  ;  the  words  of  the  prophets  searched 
their  hearts  ;  the  Temple  feasts  and  sacrifices,  and  the  great 
fast  moved  them  to  penitential  tears,  or  raptures  of  thanks- 
giving ;  the  worship  of  the  Synagogue  and  the  home  stirred 
and  lifted  them  to  Divine  communions,  and  penetrated  with  the 
sense  of  the  unseen  Holy  One.  Some  of  this  type  may  have 
originated,  or  appreciated  in  an  extra  legal  sense,  the  saying 
that  "  if  all  Israel  would  together  repent  for  a  whole  day,  the 
redemption  by  Messiah  would  ensue." 

But,  taking  Israel  as  a  whole,  the  question  referring  to  the 
Second  Advent   mi;^ht  have  been   applied  to  the  first,  when 
the  Son  of  Man  cometh  shall  He  find  faith  on  the  earth  ? 
The      hard  task  that  lay  before  the  Christ  was  then  twofold. 

'   Vide  especially,  Lecture  V.,  in  the  Hibbert  Lectures. 


THE   POST-CANONICAL   MESSIANIC   HOPE.  27 

First,  to  convince  people  that  He  was  the  Messiah.  Secondly, 
to  convince  them  that  He  was  not  the  Messiah  of  their  pre- 
conceptions, but  of  Scriptural  revelations  ;  to  rehabilitate  the 
Messiah  of  the  prophets  ;  to  transform  their  whole  Messianic 
conception.  His  task  was  to  change  and  transfigure  their  whole 
life,  with  all  its  wealth  of  hope,  and  love  and  passionate  desire  ; 
and  to  plant  in  the  torn  soil  of  hearts  bruised  and  broken  for  a 
new  seed  a  living  faith  in  Himself,  as  the  Messiah  and  the  Son 
of  God.  Alas  the  Messiah  was  rejected  before  He  came,  in  His 
inspirations  and  prophecies,  types  and  shadows  !  Had  the 
Divine  light  been  truly  reflected,  it  would  not  have  shone  into 
darkness.  Had  the  level  of  inspiration  found  a  corresponding 
height  of  Messianic  belief,  height  would  have  answered  to 
height,  re-echoing  the  Divine  Voice,  and  deep  to  deep. 

Through  Him  and  His  Israel,  as  His  ministering  servants, 
all  nations  were  called  to  be  servants  of  God  ;  Israel  was 
to  be  universalized.  All  Israel  should  have  been  John 
the  Baptists.  Israel  failed  their  high  mission,  but  their 
casting  off,  because  they  cast  off,  did  not  thwart  the  plan 
of  God,  and  involve  the  Gentiles  in  their  loss.  The 
Greek  translation  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  the  dispersion  of 
Jewish  thought  and  morals  with  the  Jews,  were  Messianic 
stepping-stones  to  Gentile  hearts.  Even  now  a  great  future 
appears  to  await  Israel  repentant  ;  and  their  Divine  work  of 
service  and  place  of  honour  is  only  half  lost  and  half  deferred. 
Had  but  Israel  known  the  things  that  belonged  to  their  peace  ! 
Had  they  but  preserved  the  true  tradition  of  the  Messianic 
prophets,  had  they  but  arisen  and  stood  upon  their  feet,  an 
exceeding  great  army,  when  the  trumpet  call  of  the  prophet 
of  the  wilderness  sounded — then  to  a  people  who  had  been 
true  to  God's  call — the  Christ  would  have  come.  This  new 
demand  upon  their  faith  would  have  been  met  with  the  fervour 
of  instant  and  wholesale  acceptance.  The  Christ  of  God, 
acknowledged  by  His  own,  would  have  gone  forth  at  the  head 
of  His  people,  His  chosen,  and  gathered  in,  without  the  slow 
long  agonies  of  patient  missionary  conquest,  the  fulness  of  the 
Gentiles.  On  Israel  rests  the  first  and  heaviest  responsibility 
for  what  is  and  what  might  have  been. 

"  For  of  all  sad  words  of  tongue  or  pen 

The  saddest  are  these  '  It  might  have  been.'  * 


28  JESUS  CHRIST. 

But,  of  Israel  too,  may  it  be  said — 

•'Ah,  well  !  for  us  all  some  sweet  hope  Les 
Deeply  buried  from  human  eyes  ; 
And,  in  the  hereafter,  angels  may 
Roll  the  stone  from  its  grave  away."  « 


•  J.  G.  Whittier,  "Maud  Muller,"  fin. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  DIVINE  BABE. 

"  For  it  was  no  other  God  whom  the  Israelite  shepherds  were  glorifying, 
but  Him  who  was  announced  by  the  Law  and  the  Prophets,  the  Maker  of 
all  things,  whom  also  the  angels  glorified"  (Iken^us  iii.  x.  §  4.  trans- 
lated by  Keble). 

The  country  priest's  home — Zacharias  in  the  Temple — The  Angel  of 
promise  to  the  priest — The  Angel  of  promise  to  the  Virgin — The 
meeting  of  the  holy  women — The  spiritual  songs — The  journey  to 
Bethlehem — The  holy  Nativity — The  angehc  anthem — The  visit  of  the 
shepherds. 

The  sacred  scene  opens  in  the  rural  home  of  a  faithful  priest 
of  Israel.  Most  of  the  priests  lived  out  of  Jerusalem ;  in 
Nehemiah's  time  about  four-fifths  of  the  whole  number.'  In 
the  hill  country  of  Judtea,  probably  near*  the  ancient  and 
priestly  Hebron,  lived  a  righteous,  i.e.,  pious  and  dutiful,  priest 
and  his  wife,  Zacharias  and  Elizabeth.  Both  were  aged,  botli 
of  Aaron's  blood.  Zacharias  belonged  to  the  eighth  of  the 
twenty-four  courses,  or  "divisions,"  or  "families,"  into  which 
the  priesthood  had  been  originally  divided  in  David's  time 
(i  Chron.  xxiv.  7-18).  Four  of  these  only  had  returned 
from  exile  (Ezra  ii.  36-39),  and  had  been  redistributed  under 
the  old  designations.  One  trouble  vexed  the  godly  home,  and 
shaped  many  prayers.  An  "heritage  of  the  Lord"  (Psa.  cxxvii.  3), 
even  the 

"  dower  of  blessed  children  " 

had    been    denied    them.      Like    Sarah,    Rebekah,    Rachel, 

*  Cf.  Nehem.  xi.  10-19  with  Ezra  ii.  36-39  and  viii.  2. 

'  Not  "  in,"  as  Keira,  for  then  Hebron  would  have  been  mentioned. 


30  JESUS   CHRIST. 

Manoah's  wife,  Hannah,  the  most  privileged  daughters  of 
Israel,  like  her  own  people  "  until  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles 
be  come  in,"  Elizabeth  was  barren. 

Emphasizing  this  fact  for  its  spiritual  connection  with  after 
events,  the  sacred  narrative  bears  us  from  the  hill-side  home 
into  the  Temple.  As  it  was  October,  it  must  have  been  the 
second  time  that  the  course  of  Abia  ministered  that  year,  for 
to  each  course  a  week  of  duty  was  assigned.  Upon  what  day 
Zacharias  officiated  we  are  not  told.  The  critical  hour  of  his 
life  had  come  ;  the  more  abundant  answer  to  all  who  looked 
for  the  consolation  of  Israel.  One  was  waiting  to  be  gracious 
both  to  a  childless  mother's  prayer  and  a  Messiahless  wist- 
ful people.  In  the  chain  of  Divine  preparation  two  homes 
formed  the  last,  but  not  least,  links— the  home  of  the  country 
priest,  the  home  of  the  unwedded  maiden. 

The  great  gates  of  the  Holy  Place  had  been  opened.  The 
three  blasts  of  the  silver  trumpet  had  rung  through  the  city. 
From  before  dawn  the  morning  sacrifice  had  been  prepared. 
For  the  third  time  the  priests  had  met  in  the  "  Hall  of  Polished 
Stones  "  to  draw  the  third  lot,  to  choose  the  incensing  priest, 
and  the  fourth  lot,'  "  which  designated  those  who  were  to  lay 
on  the  altar  the  sacrifice  and  the  meat  offerings,  and  to  pour  out 
the  drink  offering."  The  coals  from  the  altar  of  burnt-offering 
had  been  spread  on  the  golden  altar.  The  assistant  priests 
had  withdrawn,  and  left  the  celebrant,  golden  censer  in  hand, 
alone  in  the  Holy  Place.  It  was  the  sacred,  the  cherished, 
"enriching,"  moment  in  the  life  of  any  priest.  Erect,  before 
the  altar,  clad  in  white  linen  vestments  "  for  glory  and  for  beauty  " 
(Exod.  xxviii.  40),  symbolizing  purity,  turban  on  head,  with  feet 
bare,  looking  towards  the  Veil  which  hung  before  the  Holy  of 
Holies,  having  the  table  of  shewbread  on  his  right,  on  his  left 
the  sevenfold  flame  of  the  golden  candlestick,  stood  Zacharias, 
waiting  the  signal  of  the  president  to  spread  the  incense  upon 
the  altar,  and  to  meet  his  God  (Exod.  xxx.  6  ;  xl.  26). 

When  the  time  had  come  the  "cloud  of  odours  "  rose  up  to 
heaven,  mingling  with  the  prayers  of  the  people.  The  whole 
multitude  without,  with  hands  outspread,  bowed  down  in  wor- 
ship, as  with  the  silence  of  heaven  at  the  opening  of  the  seventh 
seal.  The  incense  offering  was  the  most  solemn  phase  of  the 
whole  sacrificial  process,  as  " gold  to  stones"*  compared  with 
•  Edersheim,  "Temple,"  p.  137  ;  Schiirer  i.  294  f.  *  Philo. 


THE   DIVINE    BABE.  31 

the  blood  offerings.  Such  was  the  fittest  time  for  Divine 
revelation  to  priests.  John  Hyrcanus,  "alone  in  the  Temple, 
as  high  priest,  offering  incense,  heard  a  voice  that  his  sons  had 
just  then  overcome  Antiochus."  '  Farther  back,  David  had  been 
called  and  anointed  of  the  prophet  at  the  time  of  the  family 
sacrifice.  Never  before,  or  after,  did  Zacharias  "  burn  incense 
before  the  Lord,"  and  offer  therewith  the  representative  inter- 
cession of  all  the  farspread  sons  of  Israel.  And  this  was  the 
most  august  burning  in  time,  in  manner,  in  result,  ever  offered. 
For  on  the  right,  or  auspicious,  side  of  the  altar  appeared  an 
angel,  and  announced  to  the  trembling  priest  the  promise  of  a 
son — the  forerunner  of  the  Messiah.  Gabriel,  the  strong  man 
of  God,  who  had  about  the  time  of  the  evening  oblation 
announced  to  Daniel  the  yet  distant  march  of  the  Prince,  had 
now  the  mission  to  report  His  near  approach.  The  interview 
must  have  lasted  some  minutes,  for  the  multitude  waited  in 
wonder.  Zacharias  came  out  to  "  the  top  of  the  steps  which 
led  from  the  porch  to  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles."  But  the 
multitude  left  without  the  triple  benediction,  gathering  from 
his  signs  that  the  dumb-struck  priest  had  seen  a  vision,  and  in 
this  way  were  prepared  for  further  signs  to  come. 

Nine  months  of  speechlessness  in  the  retired  rural  home  gave 
the  priest  much  time  for  devout  contemplation.  Such  a  shock 
would  leave  an  indelible  impression  and  quicken  the  develop- 
ment of  Messianic  faith.  A  sudden  blaze  of  light  had  fallen 
upon  the  ancient  promises  of  Divine  lore,  and  the  symbolic 
anticipations  of  Temple  worship.  Faith  supplied  a  key  better 
than  learning.  The  whole  stream  of  Divine  purpose,  obscured, 
corrupted,  and  darkened  indeed,  but  less  among  the  Am-ha- 
aretz  than  in  the  city,  must  have  been  lighted  up  with  new 
promise  and  potency  of  glory.  Such  influences  at  work  in  the 
heart  of  the  chosen  priest  and  his  wife  must  have  taken  effect 
on  the  unborn  child,  and  after  his  birth  prepared  the  way,  and 
in  some  degree  accounted  for,  the  fulness  and  wealth  of  his 
spiritual  development,  and  the  depth  and  maturity  of  his 
Messianic  conception.  What  other  home  in  Israel  could  have 
been  the  training  ground  of  the  prophet .?  What  more  fitting 
nursery  for  a  personal  force,  inspired  by  and  steeped  in  the 
Scriptures,  unindebted  and  indeed  hostile  to  contemporary  urban 
authority  and  petrified  traditionalism  ?  The  prophet  did  not 
'  Josephus,  "Ant."  xiii.  lo.  q. 


32  JESUS  CHRIST. 

owe  all  his  originality  and  unique  moral  force  to  himself.  His 
character  owed  its  primary  development  to  the  home  of  a 
devout  priest,  blessed  by  an  immediate  Divine  revelation,  and 
living  in  the  light  of  a  recognized  Divine  purpose. 

St.  Luke,  who  must  have  counted  among  his  basal  authorities 
the  mother  of  the  Lord,  or  her  family  and  friends,  before  bringing 
together  the  two  holy  mothers  into  the  foreground,  passes  by  a 
rapid  stroke  from  one  home-centre  of  grace  to  another.  While 
Elizabeth  waited  in  glad  expectancy  of  assured  promise,  the 
Angel  Gabriel  went  on  his  yet  greater  mission  to  another  high- 
land home.  A  poor,  but  royal  born,  maiden,  betrothed  to  a 
village  carpenter,  with  the  common  name  of  Miriam,  or  Mary, 
is  greeted  by  the  awful  messenger.  The  record  of  the 
Annunciation  is  as  simple  and  unadorned  as  a  legend  of 
Oriental  imagination  would  have  been  gorgeous  and  hyper- 
bolical.^ The  details  are  as  few  as  possible  consistent  with  the 
historic  preservation  of  the  mystery  revealed.  Was  she  rapt 
in  secret  devotion  at  the  hour  of  morning  or  evening  sacrifice? 
Was  she  borne  on  the  soaring  wings  of  Messianic  desire,  and 

"  Faint  for  the  flaming  of  His  advent  feet  "  ? 

There  must  have  been  some  spiritual  preparedness  and  "  ripened 
receptiveness  "^  of  the  highest  order  of  grace.  There  is  a 
Divine  fitness  of  time  and  place  about  the  Epiphanies  of  the 
Eternal,  Divine  self-reverence  when  He  would  manifest  His 
mysteries  to  the  meek  and  pure-hearted.  "  Hail,  favoured,"  or 
"graced,"  one.  So  was  the  flower  of  Israel  and  humanity 
approached.  The  words  recalled  the  Divine  message  to  such 
as  Gideon,  "  the  Lord  is  with  thee,"  and  preface  the  supreme 
Annunciation  that  she  is  the  chosen  mother  of  the  Messiah. 
The  question  of  maidenly  simplicity  follows.  How  ?  And 
supernatural  faith,  never  so  taxed  in  any  earthborn  before  or 
after,  is  rewarded  with  the  promise  of  the  overshadowing 
Spirit  and  power  of  the  Highest.  The  Son  of  Mary  would  be 
the  Son  of  God.  An  unsought  sign  is  superadded,  the  sign  of 
Elizabeth,  her  own  kinswoman. 

'  See,  e.^^.,  the  legends  of  Buddha's  conception  and  birth,  the  white 
elephant  entering  into  the  side  of  Queen  Mayi  as  she  lay  on  a  celestial 
couch  in  a  golden  palace,  &c.,  &'c. 

»  Cf.  Dorner,  "System  of  Christian  Doctrine,"  iii.  343,  E.  T. 


THE    DIVINE   BABE.  33 

••  Yes,  and  to  her,  the  beautiful  and  lowly, 
Mary,  a  maiden,  separate  from  men, 
Camest  thou  nigh  and  didst  possess  her  wholly, 
Close  to  thy  saints,  but  thou  wast  closer  then."  * 

"The  altar  of  the  Virgin's  womb  was  touched  with  fire  from 
heaven."  ="  "Conceived  of  the  Holy  Ghost"  is  an  article  of 
faith  on  a  level  with  "born  of  the  Virgin  Mary."  It  was  the 
function  of  the  Creative  Spirit  to  form  the  human  nature  of 
Jesus,  as  by  Him  "  He  is  always  born  anew  in  the  hearts  of 
saints." 3  In  patristic  language,  "  this  ray  of  God  entering  into 
a  certain  virgin,  and  in  her  womb  endued  with  the  form  of 
flesh,  is  born  Man  joined  together  with  God.""* 

There  is  a  deep  touch  of  nature  in  the  narrative  following, 
which  is  its  own  evidence  of  truthfulness.  Burdened  with  a 
bles?ed  and  awful  secret,  Mary  seeks  the  home  of  her  who  alone 
can  give  and  exchange  with  her  womanly  and  spiritual  sympathy. 
Her  kinswoman,  Elizabeth,  can  verify  the  angel's  annunciation, 
and  alone  in  Israel  can  counsel  her  with  full  knowledge  of  her 
unique  position,  added  to  the  weight  of  her  many  years  of  piety 
and  her  own  share  in  the  Advent  glory  of  the  Messiah.  The 
meeting  of  the  two  saints,  the  young  maiden,  and  the  aged  wife, 
linked  in  closer  communion  than  that  of  their  own  blood,  was 
one  of  as  pure  joy,  as  when  two  friends  meet  in  the  further  light. 
The  mother  of  the  past,  and  in  her  the  Law  and  Prophets  of  whom 
the  unborn  babe  was  the  last  representative,  rendered  homage 
to  the  mother  of  the  future.  Affected  by  the  mother's  exultation, 
the  babe  leapt  in  her  womb  in  unconscious  homage.  Deep 
emotion,  human  and  Divine,  kindled  by  the  breath  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  broke  into  the  greeting  of  the  elder  mother,  and  the 
sublime  prophetic  lyric  of  the  younger.  The  holy  song  gathers 
up  the  song  of  Hannah  and  many  prelusive  strains  of  expectant 
Israel  into  a  new  and  golden  sheaf  of  praise.  Poetic  power 
was,  and  since  has  been,  a  singular  gift  of  the  women  of  Israel. 
Apart  from  its  rhythmical  form,  the  Magnificat  is  "a  gem  of 
purest  ray  serene."  Not  Hebrew,  not  lyrical  only,  but  all  poetry 
is  the  utterance  of  impassioned  truth.  "  Every  truth  which  a 
human  being  can  enunciate,  every  thought,  even  every  outward 

»  F.  W.  H.  Myers,  "Saint  Paul."  =  Bp.  Alexander. 

3  Without  reference  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  Ep.  to  Diognetus  xi. 
<  TertulHan,  Apol.   i.  21,  for  copious  parallels  vide  notes  s.  I.  in  Oxford 
translation. 

4 


34  JESUS  CHRIST. 

impression,  which  can  enter  into  his  consciousness,  may  become 
poetry,"  J.  S.  Mill '  has  well  said,  "  when  invested  with  the 
colouring  of  joy,  or  grief,  or  pity,  or  affection."  "All  deep 
speech  is  song  ;'"^  and  this  ode  is  deepest  song  of  deepest  speech. 
Triumphant  joy  is  the  dominant  note  of  the  Hymn  of  the  Virgin 
Mother.  Joy  and  thanksgiving  in  the  kingdom  of  God  her 
Siviour — which  in  the  prophetic  cast  of  the  singer's  vision  has 
already  come  to  the  help  of  Israel,  in  fulfilment  of  the  promises 
made  to  Abraham  and  the  fathers.  The  exact  nature  of  the 
incarnate  kingdom  has  not  risen  into  definite  proportions.  Song 
and  singer  alike  looked  behind  and  before,  and  belonged  to  both 
dispensations. 

After  three  months  this  rare  communion  was  broken,  Mary 
returned  to  her  own  home,  and  to  Elizabeth  came  her  time  of 
fulfilment.  The  child  was  born  ;  mother  and  kin  and  neighbours 
rejoiced  together.  On  the  eighth  day  he  was  circumcised.  Un- 
forgetful  ot  the  angels  promise,  the  father  closes  the  discussion 
about  the  name  by  writing  down  John  (Jochanan),  and  his 
long-sealed  lips  were  lit  with  priestly-prophetic  fire.  The  pro- 
mised horn  of  salvation  had  been  raised  up  in  David's  house. 
His  new-born  son  was  to  be  the  forerunner  of  the  Saviour. 
The  song  strikes  the  deepest  gospel  notes — salvation,  light,  peace 
to  the  people  of  God. 

Meantime   the   condition   of   his   espoused   brought   painful 

questions  to  tlie  mind  of  Joseph,  and  suggested  to  the  humble 

conscientious  Tsaddiq  of  Nazareth  a  private  divorce.     His  trial 

of  faith  ends  at  the  third  angelic  annunciation,  this  time  in  a 

dream.     Each  link  in  the  chain  of  angel  ministries  completes 

the  one 

"  Far-off  Divine  event" 

"  to  which  "  unconsciously 

"  The  whole  creation  moves.** 

Each  person  within  the  sacred  circle  of  the  two  families  con- 
tributes something  to  the  development  of  the  Divine  Advent. 

St.  Luke  connects  the  journey  of  Mary  and  Joseph  to  Beth- 
lehem with  the  decree  of  Augustus.  It  is  incredible  that  with 
all  the  contemporary  sources  of  information  open  to  him  he 
should  have  blundered  as  the  negative  critics  aver.     He  was 

'  "  Essay  on  Poetry."  *  T.  Carlyle. 


THE  DIVINE   BABE.  35 

aware  that  a  census  took  place  ten  years  later  (Acts  v.  37),  and 
could  not  therefore  have  confused  the  two.  It  has  been  shown 
by  A.  Zumpt  that  Quirinius  was  probably  Legate  of  Syria  for  the 
first  time  B.C.  4  to  B.C.  i,  and  that  this  re^^i  strati  on,  begun  under 
Herod,  was  fully  effected  later  during  his  tenure  of  office.  In 
obedience  to  the  law,  Joseph  went  up  to  the  city  of  his  forefather 
David  to  be  enrolled,  accoirpanied,  as  was  natural  under  her 
condition,  by  Mary. 

The  place  is  now  called  Beitlahm,  inhabited  by  five  thousand 
people  industrious  and  well  to  do.  Flocks  and  herds  abound, 
and  the  vineyards  are  good  and  plentiful.  Up  the  two-terraced 
limestone  hills,  girt  with  figtrees  and  olives,  to  the  long  grey 
village,  now  crowded  with  travellers,  the  two  poor  Galileans 
came,  after  passing  the  still  existing  site  of  the  Tomb  of  Rachel. 
Thoughts  of  the  faithful  Ruth  and  the  shepherd  lad,  David, 
must  have  crowded  upon  the  mother  expectant,  flesh  of  their 
flesh,  promise  of  their  promise,  the  instrument  of  fulfilling  of 
David's  hope.  To  any  child  of  David's  house  Bethlehem  was 
revered  and  holy  ground.  To  her,  if  she  knew  Micah's  prophecy 
and  had  heard  of  the  coincidental  Rabbinical  tradition,  "little" 
(v.  2,  4)  Bethlehem  was  the  recognized  place  of  sacred  travail, 
and  more  than  mother's  joy.  The  frowning  castle  of  Herod  in 
the  north-east,  looking  over  to  Machasrus  across  the  Dead  Sea 
would  pass  unheeded  or  lamented. 

The  very  inn,  which  may  have  been  Chimham's  (Jer.  xli.  17) 
was  too  crowded  to  take  them.  No  doors  opened  to  the  unborn 
Saviour.  His  own  received  Him  not.  Here  the  Divine  Babe 
was  born  in  the  stable.  After  ages  have  honoured  the  place, 
and  honour  and  dishonour  it  still.  The  Grotto  of  the  Nativity 
is  now  covered  by  the  chancel  of  the  Greek  Church,  but  Mahom- 
medans  keep  guard.  The  rock-cut  stable  where  Jesus  was  born 
was  one  of  countless  such  throughout  the  neighbourhood.  The 
simplicity,  the  lowliness  of  the  scene  in  every  tone  and  detail, 
ran  counter  to  all  contemporary  Jewish  expectation  and  Oriental 
pre-conception.  The  birthplace  of  the  Hero  of  Christianity  is 
adorned  with  the  unheroic  and  the  commonplace.  "Aufer  a 
nobis  pannos  et  dura  praesepia"  was  the  exclamation  of  Marcion. 
Mythical  heroes  have  very  different  origins.  The  birth  at  the 
*'  House  of  Bread "  '  is  typical  of  Jesus'  life  and  character  of 

'  But  C.  R.  Conder,  H.  G.  Tomkins  interpret  Bethlehem,  as  the  House, 
'i.e.,  Holy  Place,  of  Lakhmu,  the  Creator,  deriving  the  name  from  pre-Hebrew 


36  JESUS  CHRIST, 

lowliness,  simplicity,  poverty,  humiliation,  and  of  its  honour  of 
the  poor  and  ignorant.  The  cattle  gave  the  Son  of  Man  a 
shelter.  He  giveth  them  food  and  increase,  and  counts  theirs 
amongst  the  groans  of  created  nature.  Shall  they  not  partake 
of  His  redemptive  blessing,  and  the  glorious,  more  than  re- 
covered, liberty  of  the  children  of  a  new  earth  .'' 

Meantime  hard  by  the  Tower,  Migdal  Eder,  now  said  to  be 
marked  by  the  ruins  of  a  church  built  by  Empress  Helena,  the 
shepherds  were  keeping  night  watch  over  the  flocks  intended 
for  tiie  Temple  sacrifices.  A  sweet  heavenly  joyance  of  song 
burst  over  the  silent  hills.  It  was  the  first  Christmas  greeting 
of  glad  tidings,  as  of  a  chime  of  heaven's  own  bells,  announced 
by  an  angel  of  the  Lord,  confirmed  m  responsive  chorus  by  a 
multitude  of  the  heavenly  host. 

"  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest 
And  on  earth  peace  among  men  in  whom  He  is  well  pleased."  * 

"  Sweetly  over  all. 
Dropping  the  ladder  of  their  hymn  of  praise 
From  heaven  to  earth,  in  silver  rounds  of  song, 
They  heard  the  blessed  angels  sing  of  peace, 
Goodwill  to  man  and  glory  to  the  Lord."* 

It  was  a  hymn  of  praise  which  has  been  appropriated  into  the 
thanksgivings  of  all  Eucharistic  liturgies. 

Surely  unknown  of  the  shepherds  the  songster  angels  accom- 
panied their  hurried  steps,  and  did  homage  before  the  face  of 
their  Incarnate  Lord.  All  the  wondering  words  of  the 
shepherds,  and  those  to  whom  they  spake,  Mary  stored  up  in 
her  heart — a  psychological  touch  characteristic  at  once  of  the 
mother  and  of  the  historian.  One  cannot  but  wonder  whether 
any  of  the  shepherds  lived  to  hear  the  Baptist's  preaching. 
Hebron  lay  but  a  few  miles  farther  south.  The  devout  shep- 
herds may  well  have  been  known  to  the  family  circle  of  Zacha- 
rias,  or  have  heard  of  the  happy  birth  which  was  noised  about, 
and  set  pious  country  folks  thinking  of  a  coming  Sign.    And  with 

Semitic  pagan  inhabitants. — "  Syrian  Stone  Lore,"  p.  33,  and  Palestine  Ex- 
ploration Society  Reports,  1885,  p.   112. 

'  EvSoKing,  R.  v.,  Tischendorf,  Westcott  and  Hort,  &c. 

»  J.  G.  Whittier,  "The  Dream  of  Pio  Nono,"  changing  "he"  to 
*•  thev." 


THE  DIVINE  BABE.  37 

the  sacrificial  flocks  they  must  have  often  gone  the  short  six-mile 
journey  to  Jerusalem.  Some  may  have  witnessed  the  Temple 
cleansings.  St.  Luke  is  so  careful  an  historian  that  he  may 
have  sought  information  on  the  spot.  But  without  such  local 
investigations  the  memory  of  the  Virgin  would  have  preserved 
all,  and  much  more  than  all,  the  details  he  has  handed  down. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   EPIPHANIES  OF  THE  DIVINE  INFANT. 

"  May  to  Him  the  spirit's  kings 
Yield  their  choicest  offerings." 

Archbishop  Trench,  "Silvio  Pellico." 

The  Epiphany  of  the  Divine  Infant  in  the  Temple — The  Epiphany  of  the 
Divine  Infant  to  the  Gentiles— The  flight  into  Egypt— The  return. 

The  Circumcision  of  the  Infant  Christ  took  place  on  the 
eighth  day.  He  came  to  fulfil  all  the  righteousness  of  a  true 
ciiild  of  Abraham.  The  name  assigned  by  the  angel,  Jesus 
(Joshua),  was  given  to  the  child  apparently  in  privacy,  without 
the  congratulations  of  relatives  and  friends.  After  the  Circum- 
cision the  Child  must  have  been  at  least  forty-one  days'  old 
when  the  mother  went  up  to  the  Temple  for  her  own  purification 
and  the  redemption  of  her  firstborn  (Lev.  xii.  ;  Numb,  xviii. 
i6).  It  was  the  first  visit  of  the  Infant  Saviour  to  His  Father's 
house.  The  Child  was  presented  to  the  priest,  representatively, 
that  is,  to  the  Lord  ;  the  redemption  money  was  paid,  five 
shekels  of  the  sanctuary  (Numb.  /.  c),  of  Tyrian  weight, 
according  to  Rabbinic  requirements,  about  ten  to  twelve 
.shillings  in  value. 

And  now  the  maiden-mother  stood  at  the  top  of  the  steps 
which  led  up  from  the  Court  of  the  Women  at  the  great  gate  of 
Nicanor.  She  had  already  dropped  the  price  of  the  turtle  doves, 
"  the  poor's  oflering,"  into  the  third  of  the  trumpets,  or  the 
trumpet-shaped  chests  ;  and  as  the  incense  rose  in  her  sight 
from  the  golden  altar,  such  a  prayer  as  only  a  mother  can  offer 
accompanied  it.     The  Christian  "  Churching  of  Women "   is 


THE  DIVINE   INFANT.  39 

rather  a  thanksgiving,  but  the  older  name  was  the  "  ordo  ad 
purificandam  mulierem  post  partum  ante  ostium  ecclesicc,"  and 
all  the  spiritual  significance  of  the  Jewish  service  passes  into 
the  richer  breath  of  the  Christian. 

Perhaps  at  this  moment  one  who  had  been  waiting  for  the 
Menachem,  the  consolation  of  Israel,  received  the  reward  of 
patient  waiting.  Extremes  met  and  blended.  The  aged  saint, 
the  young  mother,  the  unconscious  Babe. 

With  the  Divine  Infant  in  his  arms  Simeon  had  reached  the 
crown  of  his  life.  Before  the  wondering  parents  he  poured  out 
to  the  Lord  his  dismissal  hymn  of  thanksgiving — a  life's  even- 
song to  many  watchers  for  the  dawn.  The  rapt  vision  of  the 
inspired  singer  extended  to  far  shores  and  lofty  heights  of 
Messianic  expectation.  The  long  musings  of  silent  prayer, 
bosomed  on  Messianic  hope,  found  voice  in  divided  accents, 
boding  both  light  to  all  nations,  and  strife  to  Israel  breaking  in 
twain,'  some  to  rise  and  some  to  fall. 

"  Its  voice  the  wise  have  understood  ; 
They  cry,  '  Thy  servants  hear  ; ' 
While  some  shrink  farther  from  their  good, 
Because  it  comes  so  near. "  • 

His  own  saddened  experience  of  life  in  the  harlot  city,  his  ripe 
insight  into  the  unfruitfulness  and  decay  of  leaders  and  people, 
his  knowledge  of  contemporary  Messianic  political  religion, 
formed  the  material  which  caught  the  spark  of  the  spirit  of 
prophecy  as  he  spake  of  a  divided  Israel,  and  prepared  Mary 
for  the  future  of  the  Mater  dolorosa.  Such  a  painful  forewarning 
of  disappointment  may  have  jarred  upon  a  soul  unriven  with 
the  reproach  of  which  the  Cross  was  the  full  and  final  agony. 
But  after  shepherd  acclaims  and  angel  carols  it  may  not  have 
been  unnecessary.  Mary  must  have  been  like  all  of  her  time, 
imperceptive  of  a  suffering  Messiah, 

There  is  a  dim  resemblance  to  this  incident  in  the  life  of 
Gautama  in  the  visit  of  the  old  sage,  who  after  his  birth  pre- 
dicted that  he  would  be  a  Buddha,  and  rejoiced  to  have  seen 
him.* 

'  W.  Bright,  D.D. 

*  Bishop  Copleston  on  Buddhism  m  The  Nineteenth  Century,  July, 
1888  ;  and  Professor  Kellogg,  "  The  Light  of  Asia  and  the  Light  of  the 
World,"  p.  71. 


40  JESUS  CHRIST. 

Another  sympathetic  saint  joined  the  group.  Widow  Anna,  tha 
aged  daughter  of  Phanuel,  a  member  of  an  unreturned  tribe, 
long  faithful  to  human  love,  yet  among  those 

*•  Thrice  blest,  whose  lives  are  faithful  prayers, 
Whose  love  in  higher  loves  endure." 

She  almost  lived  in  the  Temple.  The  burden  of  her  unceasing 
prayer  redemption. 

Two  aged  men,  one  a  country  priest,  the  other  a  dying  saint 
in  Jerusalem  ;  two  aged  women,  and  a  poor  provincial  maiden  ; 
all  obscure  in  life,  in  station,  things  that  are  not — such  are  the 
dra7natis  personce  when  the  Divine  scene  opens.  Nothing 
could  be  more  out  of  keeping  with  the  current  of  contemporary 
Messianic  expectation,  nothing  less  suggestive  of  the  advent  of 
a  superhuman  Being,  nothing  more  natural  after  the  spiritual 
order,  nothing  more  flagrantly  opposed  to  the  surroundings  of 
a  mythical  or  legendary  prince  ! 

Three  circles  are  now  formed  as  Messianic  nuclei.  The 
circle  of  the  Baptist's  parents  and  friends,  a  priestly  group  ;  the 
circle  of  Bethlehemite  shepherds,  a  rural  group  ;  the  circle 
of  elect  in  Jerusalem  waiting  under  the  shadow  of  the  temple 
for  redemption,  a  Zion  group. 

After  the  presentation  of  the  Infant  to  God  in  descending 
order  comes  His  presentation  to  the  world.  The  spiritual  fit- 
ness alone  would  go  far  to  determine  the  question  of  the  priority 
of  the  former  to  the  Epiphany.  In  contrast  with  the  consciously 
expectant  watchers  of  devout  Jerusalem,  the  representatives  of 
the  unconscious  desires  of  all  nations  approach  the  Infant  King. 
From  what  province  of  the  East  the  Magians  came  is  undeter- 
mined by  the  sacred  narrative  and  subsequent  research.  The 
name  connects  them  with  the  priestly  caste  of  Persia,  who  were 
spread  widely  over  the  East.  In  them  not  the  kings  of  Sheba 
and  Seba  only  offer  gifts  (Psa.  Ixxii.  lo),  but  heathen  religions 
which  felt  alter  God,  seekers  after  truth  in  "  the  far  countries," 
and  workers  of  righteousness  in  every  nation.  If  they  were 
Persians  they  came  of  a  gentle  race,  and  one  which  had  often 
shown  fjw/our  to  their  Israelite  subjects,  as  the  Books  of  Ezra, 
Nehemiah,  and  Esther  show. 

Was  the  star  which  led  the  Magians  on  a  long  and  perilous 
journey  natural  or  supernatural  ?     Was  it  a  special  providence 


THE  DIVINE  INFANT.  4I 

or  a  miracle  which  lightened  their  way  to  the  Light  of  all  ?  Was 
their  interest  founded  upon  a  scientific  or  a  religious  basis? 
The  last  question  may  be  confidently  answered — upon  the  double 
basis  of  earthly  and  spiritual  science.  The  former  question 
is  still  sub  judice,  and  invites  further  scientific  investigation. 
The  journey  altogether  took  about  two  years.  The  birth  of 
Christ  took  place  December,  5  B.C.  Two  years  before,  the 
famous  conjunction,  discovered  by  Kepler,  of  the  planets  Jupiter 
and  Saturn  in  the  constellation  Pisces  took  place  three  times. 
When  a  similar  conjunction  took  place  in  1603-4  a  bright 
evanescent  star  appeared  between  Jupiter  and  Saturn.  Such 
may  have  been  the  star  of  the  Epiphany.  Modern  believing 
thought  entirely  accepts  the  principle  of  economizing  miracles. 
On  a  priori  grounds  the  Christian  prefers  the  natural  without 
giving  up  a  supernatural  explanation.  That  signs  in  heaven, 
however,  naturally  accompanied  the  first,  as  they  will  the  second, 
Advent  of  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth  is  true  in  the  spiritual 
order,  whether  those  signs  were  ordinary  cosmical,  but  specially 
timed,  or  wholly  supernatural. 

The  Magi  were  Eastern  men  of  science,  in  whose  minds,  as  in 
much  later  days,  astronomy  and  astrology  were  not  as  yet  dis- 
tinct. Their  religious  interest  in  the  star  is  partly  explained  by 
that  mental  confusion,  and  partly  by  the  spread  of  Jewish  belief. 
Jewish  prophecy  and  tradition  also,  as  seen  in  the  Talmud,  con- 
nected the  appearance  of  a  star  with  that  of  Messiah.  They  were 
virtual,  or  perhaps  actual  proselytes  of  the  Jewish  faith.  The  first 
question  asked  by  the  Eastern  pilgrims  in  the  Jewish  capital, 
was — Where  is  He  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews  ?  The  question 
creates  a  stir  throughout  Jerusalem,  and  Herod  the  king  jealous 
of  any  possible  rival,  summons  a  special  council,  and  submits 
to  it  in  general  terms  the  question  of  Messiah's  birthplace.' 
Scripture  and  tradition  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  answer.  The 
decisive  text  of  Micah  is  Targtmied,  or  interpreted,  by  St.  Mat- 
thew, according  to  his  practice  in  referring  to  Old  Testament 
prophecies,  in  the  light  of  complete  fulfilment.  "  Such  Targttm- 
ing  of  the  Old  Testament  was  entirely  in  accordance  with  the 
then  universal  method  of  setting  Holy  Scripture  before  a  popular 
audience."  ' 

»  •^ivvarai  indefinite  present. 

"  Edersheim,  i.  206,  u.  v,  and  "Prophecy  and  History  in  Relation  to 
the  Messiah,'  p^  116. 


^2  JESUS  CHRIST. 

After  his  public  inquiry,  Herod  holds  a  private  interview  with 
the  Magians  with  the  secret  intention  of  learning  the  exact  age 
of  the  Child,  and  any  other  identifying  particulars  which  would 
assist  him  to  its  destruction.  Once  more  the  bright  pioneer 
"  magnifica  lingua  coeli,"  '  shone  in  silent  eloquence  before  the 
rejoicing  travellers,  not  to  indicate  a  well-known  way,  but  to 
reward  those  who  by  faith  saw  the  invisible  and  obtained 
promises. 

The  Holy  Family  had  now  found  the  shelter  of  a  house.  The 
humble  roof  is  the  first  Palace  of  the  royal  Infant,  the  Eastern 
savants  are  the  first  courtiers,  and  the  gold  and  frankincense 
and  myrrh  (comp.  Isa.  Ix.  6)  the  choice  products  of  their  own 
East,  the  royal  coronation  homage.  Those  who  have  seen 
Holman  Hunt's  "Shadow  of  Death"  will  remember  the  use 
made  by  the  artist  of  the  holy  offerings. 

Warned  by  a  dream  not  to  return  to  their  false  and  crafty 
friend  Herod,  the  firstfruits  of  the  Gentiles  returned  to  their 
own  East.  The  Divine  Epiphany  had  taken  place.  The 
Divine  rejection  had  already  begun. 

Joseph's  hasty  night  flight  into  Egypt  follows  in  obedience 
to  angelic  warning.  A  very  large  number  of  Jewish  colonists 
resided  in  Egypt,  enjoying  the  rights  of  citizenship.  In  the 
north-eastern  part  of  Alexandria  a  quarter  was  assigned  to  them 
"  that  they  might  lead  a  purer  life,  by  mingling  less  with 
foreigners  ;  " '  and  they  had  scattered  their  homes  and  houses 
of  prayer  in  all  parts  of  the  city.  Among  the  million  Jewish  in- 
habitants Joseph  and  Mary  would  easily  find  friends,  and  deposit 
a  germ  of  Messianic  faith  which  should  bear  fruit  after  many 
days.  Out  of  Egypt  God's  Son,  first  His  people,  and  then  their 
Representative  who  identified  Himself  with  them,  and  spake 
long  after  of  His  Exodus  (Luke  ix.  31),  was  called  in  due  time. 

The  innocents  at  Bethlehem  are  privileged  to  die  for  the 
Innocent,  foremost  of  the  white-robed  army.  Some  score  or 
more  in  a  small  town  were  sacrificed  to  Herod's  jealous  wrath, 
unrecorded  amidst  bloodier  massacres  on  the  page  of  Josephus, 
but  recalling  to  the  mind  of  the  sacred  historian,  the  lamentation 
of  Rachel,  comfortless  mother  in  Israel,  over  exiled  and  slaugh- 
tered children. 

Divine  retribution  swiftly  follows.     The  blood  of  thirty-seven 

'  St.  Augustine.  '  Josephus,  "  Bell.  Jud."  ii.  18.  7. 


THE   DIVINE   INFANT.  43 

years'  reign  of  murder  and  crime  called  for  vengeance.  Herod 
died  at  Jericho,  almost  within  hearing  of  the  rejoicings  of  the 
people. 

Another  angelic  intimation  turns  Joseph's  steps  homewards. 
Archelaus,  the  elder  brother  of  Herod  Antipas,  the  nominee  of 
Herod's  fourth  will,  had  been  proclaimed  king  by  the  army,  and 
his  accession  under  the  title  of  Ethnarch  had  already  been,  or 
was  afterwards,  confirmed  by  Augustus.  Joseph  intending  pro- 
bably to  live  at  Bethlehem  is  by  another  angelic  warning 
directed  to  Galilee. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  DIVINE  BOY.    THE  DIVINE  YOUTH. 

"  Love  had  he  found  in  huts  where  poor  men  lie  ; 
His  daily  teachers  had  been  woods  and  rills, 
The  silence  that  is  in  the  starry  sky, 

The  sleep  that  is  among  the  lonely  hills." 
Wordsworth,  "  Song  at  the  Feast  of  Brougham  Castle." 

Nazareth  —  Physical  environment  —  Home  influence  and  education  — 
Epiphany  of  the  Divine  Boy— The  Father's  house — The  tender  Plant 
— The  Divine  Young  Man — The  simple  home — Experience  of  men  — 
Communion  with  nature — God's  silences  of  preparation. 

Nazareth,  the  "watcheress"  or  "protectress,"  lay  white  on  the 
bosom  of  the  surrounding  hills.  The  horizon  of  the  town  is 
limited  to  the  smooth  bare  limestone  hill-tops.  But  from  the  sum- 
mit of  the  hill  above  the  eye  swept  over  a  wide,  a  varied,  and  a 
stirring  scene  of  beauty.  To  the  north  rose,  tier  above  tier, 
the  mountains  of  Upper  Galilee,  the  three-peaked  Hermon's 
hoary  crown  ;  closer,  gleaming  Sepphoris,  now  Seffurieh,  some 
four  miles  off,  "the  city  set  on  a  hill,"  made  by  Herod  Antipas 
the  capital  of  Galilee  ;  and  many  of  the  towns  of  populous 
Galilee,  stretching  to  "the  hollow  bay  of  Acre  with  its  white 
circle  of  surf."  Hard  by  in  the  east  the  cone  of  Tabor  round 
which  the  many  coloured  caravans  would  wind ;  afar  the  long 
rough  ridges  of  the  Bashan  mountains  and  the  Jordan  valley; 
westward,  but  twelve  miles,  the  long-wooded  reach  of  Carmel's 
prophetic  hill,  "  as  seen  through  a  pure  atmosphere,  almost 
within  touch,"  '  away  over  its  ridges  to  the  south-west  the  far 
flash  of  "  the  great  sea"  dinted  with  sails  ;  southward  the  rich 

•  A.  Henderson. 


THE   DIVINE   BOV.  4> 

historic  plain  of  Esdraelon,  field  of  many  battles,  to  the  moun- 
tains of  Gilboa  on  the  east,  and  the  hills  of  Samaria  on  the 
north. 

Modern  Nazareth  lies  "as  in  a  hollow  cup,"'  lower  down 
upon  the  hill,  as  is  indicated  by  the  position  "of  the  old  cisterns 
and  tombs."  *  It  is  a  flourishing  town,  and  most  of  its  six 
thousand  inhabitants  are  Christian.  The  Virgin's  Fount, 
then,  as  now,  a  favourite  resort  of  the  youth,  is  the  one  hallowed 
spot.  The  fair  beauty  of  the  women,  the  bright  coloured 
dresses  of  the  inhabitants  are  traits  which  may  be  a  pre- 
Christian  survival  ;  the  quarrelsome  violence,  which  is  still  a 
Nazarene  characteristic,  may  have  prompted  the  olden  question 
of  Nathanael.  But  of  buildings  nothing  remains  of  our  Lord's 
time. 

Nazareth  was  a  town,  not  a  village.  Its  population  numbered, 
probably,  at  least  ten  thousand.^  From  Ptolemais,  the  port 
of  communication  with  Rome,  the  distance  was  six  hours  ;  from 
the  Sea  of  Galilee,  five  ;  from  Sepphoris,  the  capital  of  Galilee, 
till  Tiberias  rose  into  greater  importance,  one  hour  and  a  half. 
Nazareth  was  near  several  caravan  commercial  routes,  one  of 
the  three  which  led  from  Acco  to  Damascus  passed  through 
it.  Merchants  and  travellers  to  and  from  Damascus,  the  Medi- 
terranean, the  Sea  of  Galilee,  Scythopolis,  must  have  passed 
along  its  terraced  way  or  within  easy  distance.  From  Jerusalem 
the  journey  was  but  three  days. 

While  it  was  not  a  mere  highland  village,  neither  was  it  a 
great  commercial  or  social  centre.  It  must  have  escaped  the 
paganizing  civilization  of  Herod.  No  theatres,  baths,  temples, 
were  there.  The  atmosphere  was  Jewish ;  the  hereditary  in- 
fluences were  all  Jewish.  Under  a  purely  Jewish  and  Galilean 
environment  Jesus  was  brought  up.  His  breeding  was  un- 
contaminated  by  Greek  elements  and  unwarped  by  the 
dominant  Pharisaism  of  Judaea. 

The  natural  surroundings  must  have  asserted  their  influence 
upon  the  natural  development  of  the  Divine  Child.  Children 
have  little  conscious  sense  of  the  beauties  of  form  and  colour, 
of  light  and  shade  in  scenery,  little  of  historic  imagination  in 
places  of  national  interest.     But  they  artlessly  delight  in  the 

*  "Cruise  of  the  Bacchante,"  ii.  675. 
"  Conder,  "Tent  Life,"  i.  138  foil. 

*  Merrill,  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand. 


46  .  JESUS  CHRIST. 

flowered  meadows,  and  the  verdurous  hills,  and  their  lively 
fancy  weaves  a  hundred  tales  from  nature's  picture-book.  The 
charismata  of  the  "  living  garment  of  God "  can  never  have 
been  lost  on  the  sensitive  spirit,  the  observant  eye,  the  dutiful 
heart  of  the  Child.  How  many  walks  upon  the  Nazarene 
hillsides  must  have  gladdened  the  young  heart !  The  bright 
spring  flowers  picked,  the  red  anenomes,  the  pink  phlox,  the 
rock  roses  among  the  commonest,  who  could  count  ?  Many 
pages  of  Jewish  history  lay  an  open  self-explaining  Bible  on  the 
surrounding  plains  and  hills.  An  intelligent,  a  patriotic  mother 
in  Israel,  like  the  singer  of  the  Magnificat,  could  never  have 
forgotten  for  herself,  or  for  her  child  pupil,  the  histories  writ 
large  upon  the  neighbouring  battlefields.  The  names  of  Gideon, 
of  Deborah  and  Barak,  of  Saul  and  Samuel  and  Jonathan,  of 
Elijah,  of  Jehu,  whispered  from  the  very  ground.  Childhood 
drinlcs  in  the  sunshine  of  life,  but  the  dark  shadows  are  hidden 
from  unsuspecting  innocence  protected  by  parental  care. 

Of  all  the  early  factors  in  His  human  development  the  home 
influence  must  have  been  supreme.  The  homes  of  Israel  were 
the  brightest  spot,  the  love  of  children  the  tenderest  chord,  the 
respect  for  women  a  most  honourable  mark  of  Jewish  life.  This 
is  abundantly  provable  from  the  Talmud.'  "  All  the  verses  of 
Scripture  that  spoke  of  flowers  and  gardens  were  applied  to 
children  and  schools.  '  Do  not  touch  Mine  anointed  ones,  and 
do  My  prophets  no  harm.'  'Mine  anointed' were  school  children, 
and  '  My  prophets'  their  teachers.  The  highest  and  most  exalted 
title  which  they  bestowed  in  their  most  poetical  flights  upon 
God  Himself  was  that  of  Pedagogue  of  Man."  So  in  regard 
to  women.  "It  is  woman  alone  through  whom  God's  blessings 
are  vouchsafed  to  a  house.  She  teaches  the  children,  speeds 
the  husband  to  the  place  of  worship  and  instruction,  welcomes 
him  when  he  returns,  keeps  the  house  godly  and  pure."*  'A  good 
wife,'  says  the  son  of  Sirach,  '  is  a  great  gift  of  God  to  him 
that  fears  God  is  she  given  '  "  (Ecclus.  xxvi.  i-4).3 

'  E.  Deutsch,  "  Remains,"  p.  147. 

"  Cf.  Saadi,  the  popular  Persian  poet,  translated  by  Col.W.  Mackinnon — 

3  E.  Deutsch,  "  Remains,"  p.  54. 

"  A  handsome,  loving,  chaste,  obedient  wife, 

Maketh  a  man  a  king,  though  poor  in  life  ;  .  .  • 
Surely  God's  favour  is  on  him  bestowed 

Whosa  wife  makes  glad  and  prospers  his  abode." 


THE  IJIVINE   BOY.  47 

The  love  of  children  breaks  through  the  arid  technicalities  of 
the  Talmud  like  a  strain  of  sweet  music.  The  mother  is  the 
household  queen.  The  reign  of  motherhood  was  more  sacred 
under  the  Law  than  elsewhere.  Under  the  old  covenant  there 
were  Sarahs  and  Rachels,  Hannahs  and  Susannas.  The  word- 
portrait  of  King  Lemuel  (Prov.  xxxi.)  cannot  wholly  have  been 
an  ideal  one.  The  Gospels  and  Acts  are  still  richer  in  examples 
and  types  of  holy  womanhood.  Whatever  of  tenderness  and 
moral  beauty  and  devout  faith  there  was  among  the  chosen 
daughters  of  Israel  must  have  signalized  the  mother  of  the 
Lord.  Whatever  of  motherhood  that  is  most  human  yet  most 
Divine  Christian  homes  have  known,  must  have  been  present 
in  the  first  and  best  Christian  home.  The  influence  of  mother 
over  child,  the  responsive  love,  inexpressible,  between  the 
bearer  and  the  born,  must  here  have  attained  its  full  per- 
fection. 

Nor  must  we  forget  the  father,  whose  especial  duty  it  was  to 
teach  his  child  the  Law,  and  whose  humility  and  conscientious- 
ness are  apparent  under  and  by  reason  of  the  gospel  sileiice, 
and  whose  title  to  sainthood  has  been  acknowledged  by  grateful 
Christendom.  Modern  ethical  thought  assigns  a  supreme  place 
to  reverence.  "  Reverence  towards  goodness,  which  ,  .  .  proves 
to  be  identical  with  devotion  to  God."  '  "This  apex  and  crown 
of  human  goodness  "^  cannot  have  failed  to  mark  the  character 
of  the  thoughtful  son  of  the  house  of  David  and  the  nursing 
father  of  Messiah.  Believers  in  the  unbroken  virginity  of  the 
maiden  mother  have  always  seen  in  the  faithful  Joseph  an 
example  of  purity.  Graces  so  fragrant  as  these  may  well  have 
been  privileged  to  assist  in  the  nurture  and  teaching  of  the 
holy  Boy.  The  sacredness  and  the  beauty  of  family  life  has 
never  been  realized  as  fully  as  in  the  present  day.  The  family 
circle  at  Nazareth  at  once  suggests  and  sanctions  the  highest 
family  ideals.  Family  love  formed  a  very  important  factor  in 
the  expansion  of  the  faith,  as  the  family  of  the  faithful  spread 
from  one  domestic  centre  to  another,  federating  all  in  one  family 
of  God. 

That  Christ  was  taught  by  His  mother  the  Shema,  or  elemen- 
tary Jewish  creed,  as  soon  as  He  could  speak,  that  the  Psalms 
were  His  child's  hymn-book,  the  Law,  the  Torah,  the  object  of 

'  J.  Martineau,  "  Types  of  Ethical  Theory,"  ii.  p.  206.         ^  Ibid. 


48  JESUS   CHRIST. 

His  sacred  study  from  five  or  six  years  of  age,  is  beyond  doubt  ; 
for  such  was  the  education  of  every  Jewish  child  of  dutiful 
parents.  From  first  to  last  it  was  religious.  The  Jewish  child 
lived  and  moved  and  had  his  being  in  a  religious  environment. 
Till  ten  years  of  age  Jesus  must  have  studied  the  Bible.  That 
He  passed  on  according  to  the  usual  course  to  the  study  of  the 
Mishnah  may  be  doubted.  His  knowledge  of  the  traditions  of 
the  elders  may  have  come  only  from  the  experience  of  its  appli- 
cation to  every  day  and  every  hour  of  Jewish  life.  We  may  be 
permitted  to  doubt  whether  the  pure  fountains  of  revealed 
truth  were  ever  sullied  by  Mishnic  admixture  in  the  early  home 
teachings  and  self-instructions  of  the  Forerunner  or  the  Mes- 
siah. 

Whatever  intellectual  education  the  Boy  Jesus  received,  His 
spiritual  training  must  have  been  the  first  care.  The  Bible 
cannot  have  been  a  mere  lesson-book.  "  From  His  intimate  fami- 
liarity with  Holy  Scripture  "  (and  that  in  the  original  Hebrew) 
"  in  its  every  detail,  we  may  be  allowed  to  infer  that  the  home 
of  Nazareth,  however  humble,  possessed  a  precious  copy  of  the 
sacred  volume  in  its  entirety."  '  The  services  in  the  synagogue 
upon  the  Sabbath  day,  and  perhaps  on  the  week-days,  the 
family  worship,  the  private  prayer,  were  absolutely  real  to  the 
Holy  Family.  The  inward  history  of  that  soul,  the  functions  of 
the  unseen  life  within,  the  communion  with  the  Father — these 
are  subjects  past  the  thought  of  sinners  !  In  all  these  ways 
known  and  unknown,  the  Divine  Child  increased  with  the 
increase  of  God. 

The  higher  intellectual  and  moral  currents  of  the  time  can 
hardly  have  left  Nazareth  uninfluenced.  The  tide  of  human 
thought  and  national  feeling  sweeps  into  the  most  secluded 
regions. 

But  whether  Joseph  was  a  cultivated  man  there  is  no  evi- 
dence of  judging.  Culture  to  a  Palestinian  Jew  consisted 
entirely  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Law.  If  he  had  any  acquaint- 
ance with  the  later  Jewish  literature,  their  study  began,  con- 
tinued, and  ended  in  the  glorification  of  the  Law.  This  is  true 
of  the  native  history,  such  as  i  Maccabees  ;  of  the  later  Psalms, 
such  as  the  Maccabean  (Psa.  Ixxiv.,  Ixxix,  cxlix.  ;  perhaps 
Ixxxiii.  and  Ixxxiv.),  the  literature  already  noticed  in  chapter 

'  Edersheiin,  i.  234. 


THK    UIVIN'K    BOV,  49 

iii.  From  these  he  would  have  learned  and  taught  first  and 
last,  in  every  tone  of  the  moral  scale,  the  fear  of  God.  The  love 
of  God  was  an  idea  fully  developed  only  in  the  teaching  of 
Christ.  The  spirit  breathed  in  all  these  writings  is  pure, 
genuine  Pharisaic  Judaism.  It  is  clear  that  if  Christ  imbibed 
any  such  teaching  from  Joseph  or  other  Nazarene  elders,  all 
that  was  partial,  all  that  was  typically  Pharisaic,  was  rejected 
by  the  pure  and  healthy  mind,  while  what  was  true  and 
spiritual,  what  was  scriptural  and  universal,  was  appropriated 
and  assimilated. 

That  Jesus  was  a  solitary  Child  seems  unnatural  to  suppose. 
Compulsory  education  was  the  law  of  the  land.  If  the  law  was 
in  force  in  Galilee,  He  must  have  attended  the  national  syna- 
gogue school,  and  formed  one  of  a  circle  round  the  Chazzan,  or 
minister,  of  the  synagogue.  As  there  was  no  pride,  singularity, 
or  exclusiveness  about  Him  whose  delight  it  was  to  be  with  the 
sons  of  men,  He  must  have  joined  in  childish  sports  with  His 
schoolfellows  and  neighbours  and  foster-brothers,'  as  well  as  in 
childish  lessons.  That  He  showed  unselfishness  and  conscien- 
tiousness, a  bright  and  loving  spirit,  an  open  heart  at  home  and 
out  of  doors,  that  He  honoured  His  adopted  father  and  His 
mother,  that  He  actively  assisted  them  in  the  simple  duties  of 
the  household,  as  age  and  strength  permitted,  goes  without 
saying;  that  He  throughout  His  life  enjoyed  good  health  and 
bodily  strength  seems  implied  in  the  sacred  memoirs. 

Christ  passed  through  all  the  stages  of  life  to  redeem  and 
consecrate  all.  He  was  a  real  Child  as  well  as  a  real  Man. 
He  spake  as  a  child,  thought  as  a  child,  understood  as  a  child. 
The  history  of  the  Divine  Childhood  is  sunmied  up  in  the  words 
of  St.  Luke  (ii.  40,  52).  There  was  a  natural  development  of 
body,  soul,  and  spirit.  None  of  the  Nazarene  tovvnsfolks 
remembered  or  recorded  any  extraordinary  feats  of  mind  or 
body  on  His  part.  As  upon  Samuel,  the  grace  of  God  was 
upon  Him.  It  was  a  permanent,  not  a  special  or  official,  endow- 
ment. The  attractiveness  of  transparent  innocence,  the  beauty 
of  ideal  holiness,  drew  ever  the  increasing  favour  of  men.  The 
Divineness  of  child-life  and  of  the  "eternal  childhood,"  which, 
with  all  other  perfections,  "  exists  in  God,"  *  was  here  exhibited. 
The  Epiphany  of  the  Divine  Boyhood  follows  in  nature  and  in 

*  I.e.,  Joseph's  sons  by  a  former  wife. 

•  Rev.  H.  N.  Grimley. 

5 


50  JESUS  CHRIST. 

spirit  the  Epiphany  of  the  Divine  Infancy.  The  darkness  lifts 
for  a  moment,  and  the  hght  breaks  upon  a  boyish  figure  and 
character.  He  is  seen  in  His  Father's  house.  The  act  is 
typical.     It  is  the  Epiphany  of  the  Divine  Boyhood. 

At  the  time  when  Jesus  went  up  to  the  feast,  Quirinius  was 
Legate,  or  governor,  of  the  Roman  province  of  Syria ;  Archelaus 
was  in  banishment  in  Gaul  under  Roman  displeasure.  Coponius, 
the  first  of  the  Roman  procurators,  was  there.  There,  too,  at 
his  official  duties,  must  have  been  Ananos,  the  son  of  Selh,  the 
high  priest  Annas.  It  was  the  spring  of  a.d.  9.  Joseph,  as  a 
conscientious  Jew,  and  Mary,  out  of  self-imposed  obligation  or 
from  the  example  set  by  those  women  of  Hillel's  school  who 
went  up  once  a  year,  were  in  the  habit '  of  going  up  to  the  holy 
city.  For  the  first  time  the  Child  accompanied  them.  He  was 
not  yet  son  of  the  Torah,  legally  of  age,  but  wanting  a  year 
only,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  time,  and  perhaps  with 
other  boys  of  His  age  or  kin  He  went.  If  His  mother  had 
never  gone  before,  she  would  not  have  left  Him  to  go  without  her. 

The  songs  of  Zion  must  have  cheered  the  pilgrim  march, 
most  of  all  the  Psalms  of  Ascent,  such  as 

"  I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me, 
'  Let  us  go  to  the  house  of  Jehovah,' 
Our  feet  stand  at  last 
Within  thy  gates,  O  Jenisalem."  • 

Many  children  entering  their  teens  are  vividly  sensitive  to 
religious  ideas.  The  first  journey  to  the  city  where  God  had 
set  His  Name,  where  all  Jewish  worship  and  life  and  history  had 
centred  for  generations,  must  have  been  an  epoch  in  the  life  of 
any  young  Israelite.  Add  to  that  the  sacred  purpose,  the  Divine 
and  national  feast,  the  holy  place,  the  house  of  Jehovah — above 
all,  the  Personality  of  the  Child-pilgrim,  Son  of  God  and  Son  cf 
David — and  the  lingering  in  the  Father's  house,  the  naive  ques- 
tion of  the  conscious  Son  of  the  Highest  seems  strictly  natural. 
Looking  back  through  the  after-lights,  we  ask,  not — could  it 
have  been  ?  but  could  it  not  have  been  ? 

Some  have  supposed  that  at  this  visit  He  first  realized  His 
Divine  Sonship  :  the  profound  Dorner,^  ^.^.,  "it  flashed  upon 

•  avafSaivovTwv  tense.  '  Psa.  cxxii.  (Cheyne). 

3  "  System  of  Christian  Doctrine,"  iii.  365. 


THE   DIVINE    BOY.  JI 

Him  in  the  holy  city,  in  the  midst  of  types  of  Him,  He  knew 
it  also  to  be  His  mission,  to  be  about  what  was  His  Father's. 
God  is  to  Him  Father  in  a  special  sense  ;  therefore  He  also 
knew  Himself  in  a  special  sense  to  be  His  Son.  And  to  assert 
and  carry  through  this  consciousness  He  knew  to  be  His 
mission.  He,  this  man,  must  remain  in  the  Divine  home."  It 
may  be  so.  The  occasion  was  fitting.  But  considering  the 
reality  and  rapidity  of  religious  conviction  in  children  of  pious 
parents  and  devout  environment,  it  seems  not  unnatural  to 
suppose  that  His  consciousness  of  His  Divine  Nature  had 
begun  as  early  as  His  intelligent  and  self-intelligible  conscious- 
ness of  God.  Once  knowing  God  as  a  Father,  could  He  have 
failed  to  know  God  as  His  Father  in  an  unique  sense  } 

But  we  are  here  on  the  edge  of  mysteries.  The  sources  of 
knowledge  are  in  any  case  mysterious  ;  and  in  the  case  of  Christ 
most  mysterious.  But  against  the  supposition  that  He  only 
used  this  language  in  the  sense  that  any  child  of  Israel  could 
have  used  it,  and  that  He  did  not  arrive  at  His  Divine  con- 
sciousness till  His  baptism,  we  enter  every  protest,  theological 
and  psychological. 

It  was  the  third  day  of  the  feast,  and  the  two  following  ones, 
that  the  Child  Jesus  was  at  once  a  pupil  and  a  teacher  of  the 
Rabbis.  On  the  first  two  days  attendance  at  the  Temple  was 
compulsory.  The  Paschal  meal  had  been  eaten,  the  Chagigah 
offered,  and  "  the  first  ripe  barley  reaped  and  brought  to  the 
Temple,  and  waved  as  the  Omer  of  first  flour  before  the  Lord."  ' 
Joseph  and  Mary  had  begun  their  homeward  journey.  They 
rested,  according  to  tradition,  at  Beeroth  {Bireh),  nine  miles 
north  of  Jerusalem,  spent  the  second  day  on  the  return,  and  the 
third  in  finding  Him.  In  some  part  or  other  of  the  vast  precinct 
of  the  Temple,  perhaps  on  the  Chel,  or  Terrace,  where  the 
Temple  Sanhedrin  on  feast  days  gave  popular  instruction, 
amongst  the  Rabbis,  sat  the  young  questioner.  There  was 
nothing  very  unusual  in  the  fact,  for  the  precocious  Josephus 
at  the  age  of  fourteen  was  consulted  by  the  high  priests  and 
principal  men.  But  there  was  everything  extraordinary  about 
His  intelligence.  He  was  at  home.  He  spake  of  His  own,  as 
the  great  thinker  of  Ale.xandria  said,  himself  a  boy  of  most  rare 
promise,  "  Interrogabat  magistros,  et  quia  respondere  non- 
poterant,  ipse  his,  de  quibus  interrogaverat,  respondebat.  .  .  . 
'  Edersheim,  i.  246. 


52  JESUS  CHRIST. 

Interrogabat,  inquam,  magistros,  non  ut  aliquid  disceret,  sed 
ut  interrogans  erudiret."  '  But  it  was  impossible  for  the  Messiah 
to  remain  in  Jerusalem.  Rabbinism  would  have  choked  Him. 
The  inevitable  breach  would  have  come  earlier.  Obedient  at 
any  sacrifice  He  returned  to  the  simple  home  and  parental 
supervision.  The  light  of  the  evangel  is  turned  off.  Silence 
falls  round  the  Divine  home  ;  the  figure  of  the  Messiah  is  hidden 
for  eighteen  years.  One  welcome  word  tells  us  of  natural, 
intellectual,  spiritual  growth  (Luke  ii.  52). 

He  grew  up  as  a  tender  plant  on  a  wholly  Jewish  soil, 
with  nothing  between  Him  and  the  pure  air  and  light  of 
heavenly  grace  but  the  better  native  surroundings  of  the  day. 
His  mental  and  spiritual  development  was  natural,  not  artificial ; 
healthy,  not  forced.  Of  His  loving  fidelity  to  Nature,  His  keen- 
ness of  observation,  His  scientific  accuracy  of  description, 
sufficient  evidence  is  supplied  by  His  parables  and  allegories. 
The  freshness  and  originality  of  His  mind  from  a  human  point 
of  view  sprang  from  the  immediate  perfection  of  His  realization 
of  fact  in  all  departments,  and  the  absence  of  the  technical 
lore  and  pedantic  traditionalism  of  the  schools.  Whatever 
"  bias,"  in  Spencerian  language,  He  had,  whatever  hereditary 
predispositions  played  upon  Him,  were  conceived  and  born  in 
Jewish  thought,  in  Jewish  devotion,  in  Jewish  Scripture,  in 
Jewish  family  love  and  honour,  in  Jewish  Messianic  expectation 
nursed  through  long  years  of  suffering  and  decay,  sweetened 
and  purified  by  trial  and  discipline,  and  lighted  up  with  secret, 
undying  hope. 

Neither  was  Nazareth  a  secluded  town,  nor  the  life  of  Jesus 
a  secluded  life.  Life  in  the  East  is  always  and  altogether  public. 
He  increased  in  favour  with  men,  and  cannot,  therefore,  have 
isolated  Himself  from  the  townspeople.  Simple  and  reverent, 
honest  and  laborious,  loving  and  faithful,  true  and  just,  of 
transparent  innocency  and  guiielessness.  He  did  not  fail  to  win 
affection  and  respect.  Into  all  that  was  honest,  pure,  lovely, 
and  of  good  report.  He  would  enter  freely  and  heartily.  From 
all  that  was  the  contrary  He  would  shrink.  His  education  for 
affairs  was  derived  from  His  experience  of  men  and  things. 
The  realities  of  life  are  as  appreciable  on  a  small  as  on  a  large 
scale.  His  pure  spirit  was  sensitive  to  the  touch  of  truth  as 
the  leaves  to  the  breath  of  spring,  wherever  it  was  met.  His 
»  Origen,  in  Luc,  Horn,  xviii.  xix.  (954,  955). 


THE  DIVINE  YOUTH.  53 

perfect  insight  into  the  ways  of  men's  hearts,  and  the  springs 
of  human  conduct,  was  brought  on  its  human  side  by  the 
suffering  shocks  of  contact  with  pure  evil,  or  mixed  good,  and 
by  the  joyous  sympathy  which  flows  from  love  of  all  that  is 
right.  The  Christ  in  youth  was  sober-minded,  strong  in 
grace.  He  fled  youthful  lusts,  He  followed  righteousness.  He 
was  irreproachable  in  conduct.  Not  even  calumny  and  the 
fierce  light  of  after-criticism  could  rake  up  any  ashes  of  scandal 
from  the  pure  fire  of  that  white  young  life.  More  pious  and 
devout  and  simple  than  a  Samuel,  fairer  and  braver  than  a 
David,  purer  and  fuller  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness  than  a 
Joseph,  He  was  at  all  times  and  in  all  companies  the  pattern 
youthful  Israelite,  the  Ideal  Young  Man.  At  home,  eating  and 
drinking,  working  at  the  carpenter's  bench,  worshipping  on  the 
housetop  or  in  the  synagogue,  keeping  feast  and  fast,  with  the 
maidens  as  sisters,  with  the  young  men  as  brothers,  Jesus 
Christ  v/as  the  same  in  character,  as  in  after-days  of  public 
ministry,  as  He  is  now,  to-day,  and  for  ever. 

The  outward  circumstances  of  His  Nazarene  life  may  be 
briefly  noticed.  The  kind  of  house  in  which  He  lived  is  still 
found  in  a  perfect  state.  "  They  are  generally  square,  of 
different  sizes,  the  largest,  however,  not  thirty  feet  square,  and 
have  one  or  two  columns  down  the  centre  to  support  the  roof, 
which  appears  to  have  been  flat  as  in  the  modern  Arab  houses. 
The  walls  are  about  two  feet  thick,  built  of  masonry  or  of  loose 
blocks  of  basalt.  There  is  a  low  doorway  in  the  centre  of  one 
of  the  walls,  and  each  house  has  windows  twelve  inches  high 
and  six  wide."  '  Sometimes  "  the  house  was  divided  into  four 
chambers." 

Daily  food  and  clothing  were  simple  and  sufficient.  He  wore 
in  manhood  the  national  turban,  probably  white  ;  and  tunic  of 
one  piece,  and  therefore  valuable  ;  over  that  the  talith  (l/zanoi'), 
loose  and  flowing,  whether  white,  or  the  common  blue,  or  white 
with  brown  stripes,  with  the  Tsitsith  blue  or  white  fringes  at  the 
four  corners.' 

The  political  movements  of  the  day  in  a  people  so  intensely 
national  as  the  Jews,  in  whose  eyes  patriotism  was  a  religion, 

'  L.  Oliphant,  "  Haifa,"  p.  231. 

'  Stapfer,  ch.  x.  p.  100  ;  but  the  white  of  the  Transfiguration  was  tha 
whiteness  of  intense  colour,  and  does  not  imply  that  His  garment  was  not 
white  before. 


54  JESUS  CHRIST. 

and  whose  politics  were  summed  up  in  the  one  word,  the 
Messiah,  cannot  have  failed  to  excite  the  interest  of  Nazarenes. 
How  seriously,  how  intently,  the  political  horizon  must  have 
been  watched  by  parents  who  shared  in  some  degree  the  ideas 
of  the  time  respecting  the  political  character  and  national 
mission  of  the  Messiah  and  kept  to  themselves  the  tremendous 
secret  !  Christ  Himself  may  have  thought  out  some  of  the 
political  problems  of  the  day,  as  travelling  merchant  from  the 
west  or  returning  priest  from  Jerusalem  brought  in  news.  Such 
questions  as  afterwards  confronted  Him,  as  the  m.oral  obliga- 
tions of  taxation,  the  respective  duties  to  the  Roman  govern- 
ment and  its  representatives,  and  to  the  national  government  and 
its  representatives,  were  settled  in  the  court  of  His  private  life 
and  conscience,  before  He  was  publicly  required  to  state  His 
principles.  His  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world,  but  this  world 
was  of  His  kingdom  and  of  His  love. 

Years  brought  experience  of  men  ;  increasing  knowledge 
increasing  sorrow,  increasing  desire  to  take  away  the  evil.  As 
lives  and  characters  were  gauged  by  Him,  as  hollowness  and 
unreality,  corruption  and  hypocrisy,  dropped  their  disguise 
before  His  open  gaze,  as  wickedness  and  vice  and  all  the 
wrongful  dealing  of  men  burned  like  fire  against  the  spotless 
white  of  His  soul,  as  hearts  lay  open  before  Him,  if  He  willed, 
He  took  the  measure  of  men,  of  His  own  people,  of  His  own 
generation,  li  His  voluntaiy  exinanition  limited  Him  to  the 
ordinary  media  of  human  knowledge  there  is  a  moral  insight, 
peculiar  to  holiness  of  a  high  order,  exemplified  in  the  history 
of  saints,  which  even  upon  a  purely  human  basis  must  have 
distinguished  Him  above  all  His  holy  offspring,  which  must 
have  vibrated  to  every  breath  of  good,  and  jarred  at  every 
shock  of  evil.  Nor  is  life  on  a  large  scale,  in  populous 
centres,  amongst  seas  of  human  activity,  necessary  to  breadth 
of  view  and  intensity  of  perception.  On  the  contrary,  indi- 
viduals, where  fewer,  offer  more  points  for  attraction  or  repulsion. 
The  microscopic  view  of  life  becomes  possible.  Characters, 
indi vidua-  forces,  are  more  easily  measurable.  The  village 
Hampden  or  the  village  tyrant  are  more  appreciable  by  their 
nearness.  In  the  thriving  country  town  Jesus  saw  types  of 
every  contemporary  class  and  interest.  The  after  experiences 
of  life  do  not  seem  to  have  stirred  many  surprises  in  Him.  He 
knew  what  was  in  man  from  the  intuitive  insight  of  perfection. 


THE  DIVINE  YOUTH.  55 

He  knew  what  was  in  man  from  the  accumulated  experience  of 
pain,  and  the  intensified  sympathy  of  an  irrepressible  stream  of 
love.  If  any  ambitions  presented  themselves  to  Him  from 
without — from  within  they  never  could  come — from  flattering 
friends  or  home  Messianic  misapprehensions,  they  made  no 
mark  upon  a  heart  cased  in  the  panoply  of  God.  Experience 
and  observation  formed  the  ethical  sources  of  His  inductive 
knowledge  of  men.  The  mysterious  powers  which  were  in- 
volved in  His  Divine  nature  are  unknowable  in  their  intrinsic 
energies. 

Friends  cannot  have  been  wanting  to  the  family  circle.  The 
town  may  have  had  its  Simeon  and  Anna,  its  holy  and  humble 
of  heart,  its  righteous  according  to  the  law  without  self-righteous- 
ness ;  but  we  know  of  no  Nazarene  apostles,  or  even  disciples, 
except  His  long  unbelieving  "  brethren."  Such  an  absence  is 
conspicuous. 

During  these  silent  years  He  may  have  been  shaping  His 
life  plan  ;  if  the  comparison  may  be  made  without  irreverence, 
like  Milton,  "late  choosing  and  beginning  late,"  with  conscious 
self-education.  But  it  seems  more  becoming  to  think  that  He 
lived  faithful  to  the  simple  light  of  everyday  duty,  turning  every 
detail  to  heavenly  account,  waiting  patiently  for  the  Divine 
summons  to  wider  fields  of  action  and  higher  "  vocation  and 
ministry." 

Upon  Jesus  Christ's  youthful  high  communings  with  Nature 
it  is  needless  to  dwell.  It  has  ceased  to  be  the  monopoly  of 
artists,  poets,  physicists  to  taste  the  sacramental  gifts  of  Nature. 
That  it  has  so  ceased  is  due  to  Him  who  opened  the  book  of 
the  Gospel  of  Nature.  Nature  to  Him  spoke  in  most  melodious 
tones  of  the  fair  beauty  of  the  Lord  ;  His  righteousness,  His  all- 
providential  care,  His  wisdom,  His  power  in  the  things  that 
were  made  were  read  as  in  an  open  book.  In  St.  Paul  we  see  a 
man  of  culture  and  city  tastes  who  found  in  nature  a  gospel 
which  supplied  his  new  faith  with  the  lofty  analogies  of  the 
resurrection  body  and  the  starlike  in  glory — a  gospel  muffled  to 
his  unconverted  ears.  In  Christ  we  have  One  whose  eyes  nor  ears 
required  opening  to  a  Presence  in  the  summer  hills  and  flowers 
or  the  wintry  frosts  and  snows.  The  Old  Testament  is  full  of 
Nature's  worship.  The  Psalms,  which  were  Christ's  special 
manual  of  devotions,  in  every  cadence  spoke  of  and  from  the 
works  of  His  hands  to  the  Maker.     To  Christ  is  due  as  dis- 


56  JESUS  CHRIST. 

coverer  the  first  revelation  of  the  truth  of  the  unity  of  Nature  in 
God,  the  community  of  Nature  and  human  nature,  their  inter- 
dependence, their  common  dependence  upon  the  Personal  God. 
To  Him,  then,  "  the  meanest  flower  that  blows  "  upon  the  Naza- 
rene  hillsides  brought  thoughts  not  only  "  too  deep  for  tears," 
but  passing  human  understanding — thoughts  of  His  Father's 
love  and  power  and  wisdom,  thoughts  of  man's  unlove,  im- 
potence, folly,  misery,'  sin,  which  Nature  as  truly  mirrors, 
and  as  pathetically  expresses  with  her  thousand  shadows  as 
with  her  ten  thousand  lights  she  proclaims  the  Light  of  the 
world. 

The  silences  of  God  are  not  the  silences  of  inactivity,  of  in- 
difference, of  oblivion.  They  are  the  silence  of  infinite  prepara- 
tive industry,  of  the  march  of  myriad  evolutions,  slow  and  sure 
and  invisible.  There  was  the  silence  before  the  call  of  Abraham  ; 
there  was  the  silence  of  heavens  as  brass  during  the  travail  of 
Egyptian  bondage  ;  there  was  the  silence  as  of  the  coldness  and 
disappointment  of  an  outraged  friend  before  the  call  of  Samuel ; 
there  was  the  long  pre-Messianic  silence  after  the  last  of  the 
prophets  had  lifted  up  his  voice  in  promise  of  the  messenger, 
Elijah  the  prophet,  before  the  great  and  terrible  day  of  the 
Lord ;  there  was  the  silence  of  the  prophet-priest  in  the 
solitudes  of  the  deserts,  before  he  put  the  trumpet  to  his  lips 
and  sounded  the  alarm  ;  there  was  the  silence  of  the  Messiah 
Himself,  gathering  up  the  forces  of  His  soul  for  the  day  of 
battle,  storing  the  spiritual  sinews  of  war  for  the  superhuman 
strife,  awaiting  the  Divine  mandate  and  the  trumpet  ring  of  His 
human  forerunner  ;  there  was  the  mysterious  and  most  for- 
bearing silence  of  God  while  the  Son  of  Man  waged  His  single- 
handed  warfare  with  all  the  accumulated  heritages  of  lies,  the 
armed  fortresses  of  evil,  the  concentrated  organized  hosts  of  the 
prince  and  potentate  of  ill.  And  tlie  wondering,  scarcely  broken 
silence  of  the  angels  !  And  the  Divine  silence  still  remains  in 
the  majesty  of  self-reserve  till  it  is  burst  by  the  trump  of  the 
angel. 

But  these  silences  of  ages  have  been  the  preludes  to  utterance. 
There  has  been  neither  speech,  nor  language,  till  the  fulness  of 

*  Cf.  J.  S.  Mill's  hard  reading  of  Nature  in  the  famous  passage  in  "  The 
Three  Essays  on  Religion  ;  "  but  it  is  only  of  one  side  of  Nature,  and  to 
a  Christian  suggests  the  redemption  and  resurrection  of  Nature  implied 
in  that  of  human  nature  through  Christ. 


THE  DIVINE  YOUTH.  57 

each  time — till  God  spake  and  it  was  done.  Busy,  working 
lives  of  men,  ye  need  the  golden  silences  of  patient,  teachable 
prayer  and  preparatory  suffering  devotion  above  all  needs  of 
this  work-a-day  world  if  ye  would  find  out  God's  purpose,  fulfil 
His  ends,  and  do  His  work  ! 

Years  passed  by  over  an  uneventful  life  and  a  silent  heaven. 
The  people  called  Him  by  their  wants  and  miseries,  the  family 
of  sinners  called  Him  by  their  sins,  the  prayers  and  desires  of 
thousands  who  had  gone  to  Sheol  disappointed  called  Him,  the 
spiritual  Messianic  watchers  for  their  satisfaction,  the  deluded 
and  debased  for  tjieir  correction  called  Him,  "the  world  with 
all  its  ideals  called  Him;"'  but  His  Heavenly  Father  called 
Him  not,  and  He  waited  His  hour.  By  such  a  discipline  of 
waiting  and  patient  endurance  God  had  tried  Abraham,  had 
tried  His  people  Israel,  tries  His  faithful  for  their  hour  and 
His. 

How  the  Christ  prayed  in  flawless  prayer,  how  His  human 
spirit  held  communion  with  the  Divine,  is  unwritable  in  any 
gospel,  and  unthinkable  but  on  the  knees.  The  patience  and 
faith  of  the  saints  had  been  tried,  had  been  tasked  ;  and  the 
Saint  Himself  of  saints  revealed  more  than  all,  and  bore  much 
more  than  He  revealed. 

But  it  may  be  without  presumption  inferred  that  He  prayed 
the  customary  prayer  of  the  adult  Israelite.  Morning  and 
evening  He  would  have  recited  the  Shema,  or  devotional  creed, 
derived  from  Deut.  vi.  4-9,  xi.  13-21,  and  Numb.  xv.  37-41. 
Morning,  afternoon,  at  the  time  of  the  Minchah  offering,  and 
evening,  even  in  childhood, the  Shemoneh  Esreh,  "the  prayer" 
consisting  of  eighteen,  and  in  its  final  shape  of  nineteen,  Bera- 
chahs  or  benedictions.  The  latter  form  indicates  hov/  large  a 
place  thanksgiving  filled  in  pure  Jewish  devotion.  The  duty 
so  often  insisted  upon  by  St.  Paul  was  doubtless  an  improved 
survival  of  his  Jewish  days,  and  must  have  been  perfectly 
fulfilled  by  the  perfect  Son  of  Abraham.  The  usual  grace 
(Berachoth),  too,  would  be  said  before  and  after  meals  from 
childhood  without  attention  to  the  petty  and  complex  regula- 
tions of  Rabbis,  such  as — "  If  the  blessing  has  been  pronounced 
over  a  side  dish  before  the  meal,  the  side  dish  after  the  meal  is 
exempt." 

'  Lanee  in  a  different  context. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  PROPHET  BAPTIST,      THE  DIVINE  BAPTISM. 

■"The  brave  strong  spirit  of  the  man  supports  him.  So  mighty  is  the 
source  of  strength  within  him,  that,  as  the  prospects  of  the  present  darken, 
the  propliecy  of  the  future  grows  more  5plendid  in  Iiis  soul  ;  as  earth  sinks 
into  sharlow  heaven  grows  more  radiant  around  him  "  (J.  A.  Symonds, 
"  Dame  in  Exile  "). 

John  in  the  Wilderness — The  Great  Renunciation— The  Cry  of  the  King-, 
dom — The  Flow  of  Penitents — Jesus  Baptized — Why? 

The  tilings  that  Jesus  learned,  the  things  that  He  suffered 
especially,  in  the  country  town,  with  all  its  narrowness,  folly,  sin, 
were  the  school  for  the  Messianic  venture  into  the  public  field. 
That  venture  of  faith  was  now  at  hand. 

The  silence  of  Israel  was  broken  by  a  voice  as  startling  as  if 
one  of  the  old  prophets  had  risen  again  trumpet-tongued.  It 
was  the  cry  in  the  wilderness  of  the  new  prophet.  His  life,  like 
Christ's,  had  been  a  hidden  fire.  He  had  retired  to  the  desert 
at  the  imperious  bidding  of  the  Voice  within,  even  in  boyhood, 
when  strong  surrenders  and  great  renunciations  are  by  rare 
spirits  only,  and  then  but  seldom  made.  Spiritual  strength  was 
his  great  mark. 

The  forerunner  had  retired  into  the  desert  in  boyhood.  But 
the  child  life  must  have  begun  to  take  shape  before  he  left  the 
priestly  home.  Perhaps  the  death  of  his  aged  parents  was  the 
immediate  cause  of  his  going  into  the  wilderness,  which  lay 
south  of  Jericho  and  the  Jordan  fords.  There  he  abode  like 
other  solitaries  in  outward  life,  but  in  the  secret  burden  and 
glory  of  his  soul  alone  and  unapproachable.  The  principal 
factor  in  his  home  and  desert  education  was   the  study  of  the 


THE    PROPHET    BAPTIST.  59 

prophets.  If  a  child  can  be  brought  up  in  a  pious  home  for  a 
missionary  career,  if  a  prince's  son  can  be  trained  for  high 
station,  if  a  philosopher's  child  may  be  steeped  with  learning, 
like  John  Stuart  Mill  from  infancy,  the  son  of  the  Jewish  priest 
could  be  prepared  by  holy  discipline  and  many-fountained 
prayer  to  full  consciousness  of  his  Divine  mission  and  venture, 
rieliberate  preparation  for  a  special  purpose  constitutes  a  tech- 
nical education.  A  technically  prophetic  education  in  the  lives 
and  words  of  Israel's  prophets  would  stamp  into  the  sensitive 
heart  of  the  child  of  Aaron  an  intensity  of  conviction,  an  ab- 
sorption of  desire,  an  openness  to  the  fires  of  inspiration,  an 
irrefragable  independence  of  extra  Scriptural  authorities  and 
worldly  ranks,  which  should  characterize  a  shaft  polished  for 
Divine  aim  (Isa.  xlix.  2,  3),  a  mouth  like  a  sharp  sword,  a  life 
long  hidden  in  the  shadow  of  His  hand,  a  servant  of  the  Lord 
in  whom  He  would  be  glorified. 

He  was  an  ascetic,  but  neither  in  dress,  nor  food,  nor  rule, 
still  less  in  spirit  or  in  teaching,  was  he  an  Essene.  He  belonged 
to  no  religious  school.  But  he  had  made  the  great  renunciation 
demanded  of  founders  of  schools  in  the  East  and  Reformers. 
In  the  wild  steppes  of  the  desert  nothing  came  between  his 
soul  and  God.  To  a  purely  spiritual  atmosphere  he  was 
acclimatized  by  a  long  specialization  to  prophetic  work, 
resulting  in  a  character  altogether  unworldly.  To  every  local 
or  national  interest  he  was  dead  save  one.  To  every  movement 
from  or  towards  a  spiritual  direction  he  was  as  tremulously 
sensitive  as  a  ministering  spirit.  Asceticism  hardens  and 
ossifies  some  natures,  but  others  it  intensifies  for  spiritual  im- 
pact or  impression.  Such  a  man  as  the  priestly  son  of  Zacha- 
rias,  trained  in  a  long  course  of  spiritual  self-discipline,  whose 
meat  and  drink  had  been  the  words  of  the  prophets  and  the 
promises  of  God,  was  a  fully  adjusted  organ  for  Divine  commu- 
nications, and  one  who  corresponded  with  popular  ideals,  not 
in  Judjea  only,  but  all  over  the  East.  Had  he  willed  the 
prophet  John  might  have  been  numbered  among  the  Gautamas, 
the  Confuciuses  of  the  world.  He  might  have  been  a  false 
Messiah,  and  a  "  lost  leader." 

No  mere  force  of  genius,  spiritual  or  intellectual,  nor  any 
fulfilment  of  popular  ideals,  can  account  for  the  depth  of  the 
impression  made  by  the  Baptist.  The  Acts  (xviii.  25  ;  xix.  3) 
show  that  his  influence,  in  the  course  of  a  quarter  of  a  century. 


6o  JLSUS   CllKlST. 

spread  as  far  as  remote  proconsular  Asia.  And  his  name 
became  even  a  "watchword  of  direct  antagonism"  and  rival 
INIessiahship.'  And  Josephus,  with  his  anti-Messianic  bias, 
himself  is  a  witness  to  the  popular  influence  he  wielded. 

Two  facts  account  for  the  Baptist's  success.  First,  his  per- 
sonality. Secondly,  his  opportunity.  The  man  himself  was 
"a  spiritual  splendour,"^  a  moral  force  of  extraordinary  momen- 
tum. The  ante-natal  prayers,  the  long  discipline  of  waiting,  the 
vivid  realization  of  his  prophetic  vocation  growing  with  his 
growth,  the  stream  of  self-consecrating  prayer  which  bore  him 
on  the  tide  of  God's  undisappointed  will,  had  borne  their  proper 
fruit.  He  was  the  one  man  of  his  time  who  could  stand  upon 
the  naked  truth  of  the  Bible,  and  knew  that  he  was  of  the 
spiritual  lineage  of  the  Samuels  and  the  Elijahs.  Such  a  power 
within  him,  such  memories  behind  him,  such  a  special  assurance 
and  conviction,  stamped  him  as  a  strong  man  of  God,  a  prophet, 
and  more  than  a  prophet. 

But  great  characters  may  tower  in  unrecognized  oblivion. 
Great  men  require  great  circumstances.  Had  not  the  times 
been  ripe  the  Baptist  might  have  been  a  volcano  in  the  desert. 
But  it  was  the  time  of  times  for  making  an  impression.  The  cry  of 
the  kingdom  of  God  went  to  the  breathing  heart  of  the  people. 
What  was  this  kingdom  of  God  but  the  ruling  idea  of  the  old 
covenant,  the  beginning,  the  middle,  the  end  of  its  rites,  insti- 
tutions, laws  ;  the  promise  to  the  fathers,  the  passionate 
dream  of  the  prophets,  the  unsatisfied  desire  of  a  people  whom 
past  sufferings  and  exiles,  whom  present  subjection,  never 
crushed  out  of  their  pride  as  the  people  of  God  .''  Everywhere 
the  political  and  religious  atmosphere  was  charged  with  the 
dea,  actual  or  latent.  Consciously  or  unconsciously,  directly 
or  indirectly,  men  were  looking  for,  or  groping  after  a  Divine 
kingdom.  Pharisees  and  Essenes  were  discussing  it  in  their 
schools.  The  Book  of  Enoch  most,  and  the  other  apocalypses 
expressed  and  encouraged  the  same  aspiration.  St.  John  took 
up  the  conception,  but  m  a  different  sense.  He  had  derived  his 
thought  from  the  Messianic  prophets.  He  was  driven  by  the 
Spirit  of  prophecy  into  the  wilderness.  He  brooded  over  his 
Isaiah  till  substance  and  spirit,  tone  and  temper,  passed  into 
him.  But  for  Stephen  there  had  not  been  a  Paul.  But  for  an 
Isaiah  there  had  not  been  a  John  the  Baptist.  Although  he 
•  Bp.  Lightfoot,  "  Colossians,"  p.  403.  *  Dante. 


Tilli    PKOI'HET    DAiaiST.  6l 

was  distinctly  affirmed  by  Christ  to  be  the  second  Elias  pre- 
dicted by  Malachi  (iv.  5)  he  did  not  admit  the  title  himself. 
Perhaps  he  did  not  think  he  had  risen  to  the  spirit  and  power  of 
that  prophet,  and  had  fallen  short  of  his  high  vocation.  True 
greatness,  true  holiness,  are  humble  and  self-depreciative.  In 
this,  as  in  all  respects,  John  contrasted  with  the  Hillels  and 
Shammais  of  the  time,  and  of  the  time  to  come. 

"  Still,  some  few 
Have  grace  to  see  Thy  purpose,  strength  to  mar 
Thy  work  by  no  admixture  of  their  own, 
I,imn  trutli  not  falsehood,  bid  us  love  alone, 
Thy  type  untampered  with,  the  naked  star  ! '" ' 

He  alone  then  saw  that  the  kingdom  of  God  was  a  moral  and 
spiritual  fabric,  and  that  moral  and  spiritual,  not  political,  re- 
construction was  its  necessary  presupposition.  He  alone  left 
theories  and  formulse  and  stepped  forward  into  action.  And  he, 
in  the  teeth  of  current  opinion, directed  the  sword  of  Jehovah,  not 
against  the  Gentiles,  but  "  towards  Israel  itself."  ^  He  began 
the  transformation  which  Christ  completed.  He  was  His  intel- 
lectual as  well  as  spiritual  forerunner. 

All  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  high  and  low,  from  city  and 
country,  came  down  to  the  Jordan.  The  movement  spread  from 
Judjea  to  Galilee.  A  national  regeneration  seemed  at  hand  ;  a 
religious  reform  to  have  taken  root.  A  stream  of  inquirers  came 
down  to  the  river,  like  Hindus  to  the  sacred  Ganges,  to  wash 
and  be  clean,  but  with  moral  rather  than  ceremonial  intention. 
The  religious  revival  of  the  second  Elias  was  repeating  that  of 
the  first.3 

As  the  kingdom  the  Baptist  proclaimed  was  a  new  and  yet  old 
kingdom,  so  the  typical  initiatory  rite  he  required  was  new  and 
yet  old.  Old  for  "  proselytes  of  righteousness "  {Gerey  hatst- 
sedeq)  submitted  to  baptism  {Tebhilah)  in  order  to  be  "born 
anew,"  in  Rabbinical  language,  as  children  of  the  covenant ; 
old  because  water  was  familiar  as  an  instrument  of  outward  and 
a  symbol  of  spiritual  cleansing,  both  in  Scripture  and  earlier  or 
later  tradition."*  Rabbi  Akiva  says,  "  Blessed  are  ye,  O  Israel ! 
Before  whom  are  ye  cleansed  ?  and  who  is  he  that  cleanseth  you? 

'  R.  Browning,  "  Francis  Furini."  ^  Hausrath,  p.  103. 

S  Cf.  Milligan,  "  Elijah,"  in  Men  of  the  Bible  Series. 

*  Hershon,  "  Treasures  of  the  Talmud,"  pp.  99,  112,  140. 


62  JESUS   CHRIST. 

even  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  ;"  for  it  is  said  (Ezek. 
xxxvi.  25),  *•  I  will  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be 
clean."  And  again  it  is  said  (Jer.  xvii.  13),  "  The  ablutionary 
bath  of  Israel  is  the  Lord.  As  the  ablutionary  bath  cleanses 
the  unclean,  so  does  the  Holy  One — blessed  be  He  ! — cleanse 
Israel."  To  this  day  a  Jew  bathes  on  the  eve  of  the  day  of 
atonement,  to  wash  away  his  sins.     But  it  was  also  new. 

By  submitting  to  this  washing  in  Jordan  the  penitents  ex- 
pressed their  personal  sense  of  sin,  and  need  of  reconciliation  to 
God,  disclaimed  the  imputation  of  the  "merits  of  the  Fathers" 
to  Abraham's  children,  and  entered  into  a  new  covenant  relation 
with  God.  Such  a  baptism,  like  the  Law  itself,  of  which  St. 
John  was,  so  to  speak,  the  personal  embodiment,  and  last  repre- 
sentative, could  only  create,  or  deepen,  without  satisfying 
the  consciousness  of  sin.  The  Baptism  of  Christ  was  as  much 
above  the  Baptism  of  John  as  the  Gospel  was  above  the  Law, 
the  master  the  servant.  The  Baptism  of  John  led  to  that  remis- 
sion of  sins  which  the  Lamb  of  God  brought  into  the  world. 
The  penitential  element  remains  in  Christian  Baptism.  The 
simple  wooden  cross  often  set  up  by  the  banks  of  flowing  rivers 
in  heathen  lands,  signifies  to  the  converts  who  partake  of 
the  bath  of  regeneration  a  baptism  of  repentance  whereby  they 
forsake  sin,  and  a  remission  upon  entrance  into  a  new  covenant 
of  life. 

How  exactly  the  kingdom  of  God  was  coming,  what  shape  it 
would  take,  lay  outside  the  prophet's  immediate  perception.  As 
his  life  was  as  eminently  practical  as  his  teaching,  his  penitents 
appear  to  have  been  organized  into  the  germ  of  a  Messianic 
community.  It  was  a  kingdom  as  yet  kingless.  Its  members 
were  under  training  for  a  higher  Presence  and  kingdom, were  being 
led  from  a  Baptism  of  hope  to  a  Baptism  of  life  and  pardon.  As 
John  followed  the  winding  course  of  the  Jordan  from  Judaea  to 
Decapolis,  increasing  multitudes,  enjoying  the  holiday  of  a  Sab- 
batic year,  came  from  various  motives  to  see  him,  and  some  to 
remain  with  him. 

The  date  of  his  appearance  is  carefully  fixed  in  St.  Luke's  ac- 
count. The  third  Evangelist  often  shows  that  he  has  Gentile 
and  cultivated  readers  in  view,  who  looked  for  scientific  method 
in  history  and  chronological  data.  How  long  he  had  been 
preaching  before  Jesus  came  to  him  we  are  not  told. 

What  particular  impulse  drew  Jesus  to  John's  baptism  is  not 


THt:    DIVINE    BAPTISM.  63 

revealed.  Whether  He  was  conscious  that  His  pre-official  life 
was  at  an  end,  whether  He  had  inward  Divine  intimation,  or 
whether  He  went  as  a  son  of  Israel  in  response  to  the  Divine 
appeal  by  the  prophet,  in  unconsciousness  of  Messianic  inau<jura- 
tion,  we  cannot  say.  Certainly  in  the  perfection  of  His  human 
sympathy,  in  the  desire  of  His  soul  "to  devote  Himself  to  the 
kingdom  of  God," '  He  went  as  a  runner  to  the  mark.  And  the 
Baptism  itself  was  Godward,  an  expression  of  His  self-consecra- 
tion to  the  service  of  the  kingdom.  And  His  prayer  awakes  the 
Divine  assurance  of  His  accepted  surrender  as  well  as  manward 
laying  "  the  foundation  of  all  future  baptisms."  ^ 

It  may  have  been  at  'Abarah,^  the  recently  recovered  probable 
site  of  Bethany,  or  Bethabara,  that  the  great  event  in  the 
Baptist's  life  took  place.  It  was  "  in  winter,  according  to  the 
unanimous  tradition  of  the  early  Church,"'*  and  possibly  on 
January  6  or  10  (B.C.  4),  according  to  the  Basilidean  tradition, 
that  the  Messiah  stood  unrecognized  on  the  bank.  He  was  last 
of  a  crowd.     The  prophet  recognized  Him. 

"  Tantum  egregio  decus  enitet  ore."  S 

The  moral  majesty  and  unearthly  grace  of  rapt  unconscious 
beauty  could  not  fail  to  impress  the  one  man  most  sensitive  to  a 
breath  from  heaven.  The  power  wielded  by  unfallen  Innocence 
and  transparent  holiness  was  as  that  of  an  incarnate  infallible 
Conscience.*  The  spiritual  sympathy  of  St.  John  would  have  felt 
some  of  this  even  if  he  had  never  heard  the  name  of  Jesus  men- 
tioned in  his  home  life.  He  tried  to  escape  his  official  duty, 
and  become  the  penitent  of  Jesus. 

"  How  didst  thou  start,  Thou  Holy  Baptist,  bid 
To  pour  repentance  on  the  Sinless  Brow  !  "  1 

St.  Luke  characteristically  mentions  that  Jesus  was  praying 
v;hen  the  sign  was  given  of  the  rending  heavens  and  the  de- 

'  Dorner,  "System,"  &c.,  iii.  pp.  377,  378.  2  Ibid. 

"  Twenty-one  Years'  Work  in  the  Holy  Land,"  p.  94  foil. 
■♦  Bp.  Ellicott,  p.  105.  5  Virg.,  "^n.,"  iv.  150. 

Dr.  Wace,  "  Christianity  and  Morality,''  p.  247  f. ,  in  a  different  context 
"  Conceive  yourselves  in  the  presence  of  a  Conscience  Incarnate,  and  then 
try  to  realize  the  awful  homage  which  would  be  extorted  from  your  souls." 
'  }.  H    Newman. 


64  JESUS   CHRIST. 

scending  dove,  and  the  confirming  word  of  the  Father  uttered 
itself. 

Why  the  Christ  sought  to  be  baptized  is  a  question  which  was 
first  raised  by  His  baptizer,  and  it  has  been  variously  answered. 

Some  have  seen  in  Jesus  tlie  Representative  Penitent ;  others 
view  the  Baptism  as  the  inauguration  of  His  ministerial  life  ; 
others  as  the  last  act  of  the  private  life  of  the  Perfect  Ideal 
Israelite,  going  to  the  Baptism  of  St.  John,  because  it  was  from 
heaven,  and  of  His  Father,  without  ulterior  motive.  In  the  ful- 
ness of  the  words  "  fulfil  all  righteousness,"  in  regard  to  the  past, 
the  present,  and  the  future,  every  partial  interpretation  expresses 
but  one  aspect.  It  was  the  righteousness  of  the  perfect  Israelite 
acknowledging  the  obligation  of  obedience  to  the  prophet  of 
Israel  imposing  a  rite  from  heaven,  and  attesting  his  Divine 
mission.  It  was  the  righteousness  of  the  Son  of  Man,  the  Re- 
presentative of  humanity,  inaugurating  a  new  relation  with  the 
Father  of  all.  It  was  the  righteousness  of  the  Apostle  of  God 
devoting  Himself  to  a  life  of  per.''ect  fulfilment  of  His  will. 

Nor  did  the  long-withheld  Divine  response  delay.  The 
sundering  heavens,  the  descending  dove,  the  articulate  voice 
were  the  outward  and  visible  signs  of  the  descending  Spirit. 
The  Baptism  of  the  Spirit  completed  the  Baptism  of  the  Divine 
Penitent.  The  reward  of  self  humiliation  was  given  in  Divine 
exaltation.  The  Christ  was  anointed  as  Prophet,  Priest,  King, 
of  the  new  Israel,  the  new  Church,  the  new  kingdom,  conse- 
crated to  His  triple  office  and  work  by  the  washing  of  water  and 
the  unction  of  the  Spirit,  even  as  the  high  priests  were  conse- 
crated by  the  washing  of  water  and  the  affusion  of  "  the 
anointing  oil"  (Exod.  xxix.  4,  7  ;  Lev.  viii.  6,  12).  It  was  the 
anointing,  too,  which  fulfilled  Messianic  prefigurements  and 
types — the  anointing  of  the  promised  sanctuary  of  the  great 
;Messianic  eighth  chapter  of  Isaiah  (viii.  14  ;  cf  Ezek.  xi.  16)  ;  the 
anointing  of  the  Most  Holy  after  sixty  weeks  of  Daniel's  vision. 

As  the  Baptism  of  the  Messiah  fulfilled  prophecy,  so  was  it 
itself  a  prophecy  of  the  "mystical  washing  away  of  sin,"  and 
all  the  other  blessings  connected  with  His  own  Baptism  of  the 
future.  This  prospective  and  retrospective  character  belongs 
essentially  to  all  the  work  of  the  Divine  Man.  His  life  cannot 
be  considered  in  a  purely  historical  context  ;  nor  could  it,  had 
He  been  only  a  human  being  of  extraordinary  power  and  beauty 
of  nature.     For  "  before "'  and  "  after  "  belong  to  every  human 


THE    UlVINt    liAPJlSM.  65 

life  which  hut  faintly  ripples  over  the  ocean  of  time  ;  how  much 
more  to  that  which  has  relations  to  all  time  ? 

The  Divine  Messiah  had  waited  for  the  Divine  Investiture. 
And  now  His  official  life  was  to  begin.  It  was  as  a  second  birth 
to  a  new  life.  In  the  language  of  the  Church  of  old,  "  His 
second  nativity." '  The  Voice  from  heaven  spake  in  the 
Messianic  language  of  the  Second  Psalm  and  the  forty-second 
chapter  of  Isaiah,  accrediting  to  the  Baptist,  who,  as  he  saw  the 
Spirit  descending  as  a  dove,  in  his  own  words,  can  hardly  have 
failed  to  share  alone  with  Christ  the  hearing  of  the  Voice,  the 
man  Jesus,  as  the  beloved  Son  of  God. 

To  Jesus  it  was  the  seal  of  Divine  authentication.  It  was 
the  Fatherly  recognition.  It  was  the  first  break  in  the  silence 
and  loneliness  of  thirty  years.  It  was,  so  to  speak,  a  breath 
from  Home.  If  the  occasion  was  marked  by  the  first  visible  and 
audible  Divine  intervention,  it  must  have  been  one  which 
called  for  it.  God's  acts  are  not  arbitrary,  but  according  to 
law.  It  was  the  meeting-point  of  the  private  and  public  life 
Divine,  of  the  unasserted  and  the  asserted  Messiaiiship,  of  the 
old  and  the  new  kingdom,  of  the  old  and  the  new  covenant,  and 
of  the  old  and  the  new  righteousness. 

As  the  Nazarene  life  of  obscure  devotion,  so  the  public 
Baptism  and  the  descent  of  the  Dove,  were  contrary  to  all 
Rabbinical  Messianic  preconceptions.  Jesus,  as  decidedly  as 
John,  broke  with  the  current  Messianic  idea  at  once.  This 
cannot  have  been  done  in  ignorance.  From  a  purely  human 
point  of  view  He  could  not  have  lived  till  thirty  in  populous 
Galilee  without  hearing  the  current  versions  of  the  Messianic 
hope.  Alike  the  Baptist  and  the  Baptized  had  waited  for  a 
sign,  waited  for  God  to  declare  Himself,  prisoners  of  hope. 

»  Abp.  Trench,  "  Studies,"  p.  3. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   DIVINE    TEMPTATION. 

"Some  bodily  form  of  ill 
Floats  on  the  wind,  with  many  a  loathsome  curse 
Tainting  the  hallowed  air,  and  laughs,  and  flaps 
Its  hideous  wings." 

J.  H.  Newman,  "The  Dream  of  Gerontius." 

Personal  Tempter,  external  and  real  ;  not  an  internal  process — First  offer — ■ 
Supposed  Buddhist  resemblance — Second  offer — Third  offer— Tempta- 
tions recurrent — Temptation  representative. 

With  the  rapture  of  His  Father's  greeting  in  His  ears,  and  the 
exultation  of  the  Spirit  within,  Jesus  stepped  out  of  the  decisive 
l)aptismal  waters  hke  a  young  soldier  into  tX-mgaiidia  certamiiiis. 
He  was  strong  in  the  Lord.  The  joy  of  the  Lord  was  His 
strength.  Even  His  bodily  energy  was  at  full  tide.  So 
strengthened,  ''  He  found  and  felt  no  need  " '  of  food  for  all  the 
forty  days  of  strife. 

There  is  a  Divine  fitness  in  the  Temptation.  The  second 
Adam  suffered  this  humiliation  that  all  Adam's  sons  might 
share  in  the  victory.  The  tempter  came.  An  externaP  coming 
alone  satisfies  the  conditions  of  the  narrative.  The  history  must 
be  accepted  as  authentic,  or  relegated  to  the  region  of  myth. 
To  regard  the  Temptation  as  an  inner  process  in  the  mind  of 
Jesus  is  to  destroy  the  historical  value  of  the  sacred  records  not 
in  this  place  only,  but  in  all.  The  presence  of  Satan  may,  or 
may  not,  have  been  visible.  The  supreme  inaster  of  the  science 
of  evil  knew  the  outward  life  of  Jesus,  and  all  that  had  been 

*  Abp.  Trench,  "Studies,"  p.  13. 

"  Against  Weiss's,  &c.,  &c.,  "  inner  process." 


THE  DIVINE  TEMPTATION.  67 

said  of  Him.  He  knew  His  claim  to  be  the  Messiah.  How 
far  a  hostile  spirit,  without  the  internal  conditions  of  faith  and 
spiritual  sympathy,  could  penetrate,  ab  extra,  into  His  Being 
and  Nature,  can  only  be  known  to  purely  spiritual  beings.  It 
is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  demonized  recognized  Christ, 
though  with  horror  and  fear. 

Christ  was  led,  driven.  An  unseen  Personal  Force  bore  Him 
— a  certain  violence  is  implied  in  the  words.  Necessity  was 
laid  upon  Him.  The  Temptation  was  not  self-sought.  It  was 
an  act  of  obedience.  The  constraining  power  of  duty,  even  in 
the  Christian,  may  be  at  times  consciously  felt  like  the  pressure 
of  an  Invisible  Hand. 

How  the  impeccable  Son  of  God  could  suffer  temptation  is  a 
mystery.  That  the  Temptation  was  real  is  expressly  asserted  in 
Scripture.  The  reality  of  it  stands  or  falls  with  the  reality  of 
the  Human  Nature  assumed  by  the  Divine  Word.  The  point 
of  attack  throughout  is  the  Man  Jesus'  sense  of  duty  to  God. 
God  or  self  were  the  alternatives,  stripped  from  disguise,  set 
before  His  human  spirit.  A  moment's  consent  to  the  mental 
picture  would  have  been  a  declaration  of  victory  to  the  world 
and  its  prince. 

If  the  demoniacal  hierarchy  knew  Him,  who  He  was,  it  is 
difficult  to  suppose  their  Head  and  Prince  was  not  a  partner  in 
their  belief  and  in  their  trembling,  perhaps  as  the  result  of  his 
discomfiture.  The  first  Temptation  was  directed  not  only  to  the 
outward  senses,  but  to  the  inner  spirit.  Its  attractiveness,  "its 
subtlety,  lay  in  its  very  simplicity."  '  The  arguments  in  its  favour 
sounded  irresistible.  To  make  the  stones  bread  would  preserve 
a  life  in  danger,  and  that  life  the  most  precious  of  all,  and  would 
preserve  it  without  injury  to  any  one  or  anything.  The  ei  d  was 
good,  but  the  means  bad.  The  method  was  not  the  one  ap- 
pointed by  God.  By  making  stones  bread  Christ  would  have 
violated  the  conditions  of  His  submission  to  human  limitations. 
He  would  have  broken  the  laws  of  Nature,  which  are  the  laws 
of  God.  He  would  have  fallen  into  independence  of  God  and 
distrust  in  His  earthly  providence,  would  have  wrought  a 
work  for  His  own  individual  glory  and  comfort.  He  would  have 
ceased  to  be  a  true  Son  of  Man,  for  His  Humanity  would  have 
been  unreal.     With  His  real  Humanity  would  have  gone  His 

'  Bishop  John  Wordsworth,    "  University  Sermons,''  p.  87. 


68  JESUS  CHRIST. 

Mediation.  And  whatever  the  result,  the  object  was  to  be 
attained  at  the  bidding  of  the  adversary. 

By  way  of  contrast  the  Buddhist  legend  of  Gautama's  tempta- 
tion may  be  compared.  In  the  latter  case  the  austerities  during 
which  Mara,  the  destroyer,  stood  behind  him,  watching  his  op- 
portunity, remonstrating  with  him  for  his  self-destruction, 
were  the  instrument  of  self-mortification  ;  they  began  and 
ended  in  self,  and  had  no  external  relation  to  God  and  man.  In 
Christ's  case  the  asceticism  was  incidental  to  the  Temptation, 
not  an  end  in  itself.  There  are  other  decisive  points  of  contrast. 
Gautama's  first  temptation  was  to  altavdd,  the  first  of  the 
Buddhists'  Ten  Sins,  z.^.,the  assertion  of  a  self  or  individuality; 
in  fact,  to  believe  that  he  had  a  soul.  Gautama  was  also  tempted 
to  ariiparacra,  the  seventh  of  the  Ten  Sins,  or  "desire  to  live  in 
some  one  of  the  formless  heavens."  ' 

In  the  second  Temptation,  the  scene  is  changed  from  the 
lonely  wilderness  to  the  crowded  city.  The  particles, "  then,"  and 
"again,"  present  in  St.  Matthew's  report  only  (vers.  5,  8), 
indicate  the  historical  order.  St.  Luke  prefers  the  psycho- 
logical classification,  and  presents  the  Temptations  in  order  of 
tlieir  appeal  to  body,  soul,  and  spirit.  Foiled  in  awaking  the 
lust  of  the  flesh,  the  Tempter  invokes  the  lust  of  the  eye.  The 
former  temptation  had  been  to  hopelessness.  The  second 
temptation  is  to  over  hopefulness.  "The  Spirit  of  God  had 
driven  Jesus  into  the  wilderness  ;  the  spirit  of  the  devil  now 
carried  Him  into  Jerusalem.  Jesus  stands  on  the  lofty  pinnacle 
of  the  tower,  or  of  the  Temple  porch,  presumably  that  on  which 
every  day  a  priest  was  stationed  to  watch,  as  the  pale  morning 
light  passed  over  the  hills  of  Judea  far  off  to  Hebron,  to 
announce  it  as  the  signal  for  offering  the  morning  sacrifice."' 
.Shall  not  the  Messiah  cast  Himself  down,  borne  angel-like  and 
by  angels,  into  His  Father's  house  below,  where  priest  and 
people  thronged  the  courts  for  worship,  ready  to  receive  the 
Divinely-attested  sign  from  Heaven?  Would  not  a  Father's 
love,  and  a  Son's  trust,  be  proved  and  certified  ?  But  Christ's 
answer  unmasked  the  lie.  He  would  use,  not  abuse,  His  filial 
relation.  He  would  not  vindicate  His  own  Divinity  at  the 
expense  of  His  own  Humanity.     He  would  not  please  Himself. 

'  Professor  Kellogg,  "  The  Light  of  Asia  and  the  Light  of  the  World," 
J.  x\\  foil.,  u.v.  on  W\.  lulwin  Arnold's  perverse  misinterpretations  in 
"  Tne  Light  of  Asia."  -  Edersheim,  i.  303. 


THE  DIVINE  TEMPTATION.  69 

He  would  not  become  Supreme  Head  of  the  Church  by  the 
assertion  of  mere  power.  "  Never  might  the  hour  of 
Christ  the  King  be  anticipated  in  order  to  accomplish  more 
speedily  or  more  easily  the  work  of  Christ  the  Priest  and  of 
Christ  the  Pi'ophet." '  The  victory  of  grace,  the  Headship  of 
the  Church,  was  to  be  won  by  suffering.  Christianity  minus 
the  Cross  was  a  forbidden  fruit.  This  Temptation  was 
essentially  religious. 

The  scene  changes  from  the  Temple  height  to  a  very  high 
mountain.  Ecclesiastical  supremacy  has  been  offered,  imperial 
earthly  dominion  is  now  held  out,  a  Messianic  empire  and 
dominion  of  which  Caesars  would  be  an  item.  All  the  king- 
doms of  the  world  could  be  seen,  not  arithmetically  but 
representatively,  from  one  of  the  heights,  where  the  second 
Moses,  as  from  a  Pisgah,  could  behold  a  land  of  promise — 
eastward  and  westward,  stretching  to  the  blue  distances  of  the 
Euphrates,  and  the  sheen  of  the  Mediterranean  flecked  with 
cloudlike  sails.  The  character  of  the  Temptation  suggests  one 
of  the  heights  of  Abarim  ;  Nebo  itself,  commanding  a  view  of 
the  whole  of  Western  Palestine,  might  have  been  the  very  place. 
Certainly  the  sharp  hill  of  Ouarantania,  of  Crusading  tradition, 
could  not  be  the  mountain  emphasized  in  the  first  Gospel  as 
exceeding  high.  But  the  spot  must  be  left,  like  the  burial 
place  of  Moses,  in  its  sublime  secresy. 

As  the  first  assault  had  been  delivered  upon  the  body,  the 
second  upon  the  human  spirit,  the  third  tries  the  human  soul 
of  Christ.  It  was  the  largest  bid  the  Prince  of  this  world 
could  offer.  The  second  place  in  the  kingdom  was  offered 
Him.  "  What  Satan  sought  was,  '  My  kingdom  come,'  a 
Satanic  Messianic  time,  a  Satanic  Messiah  ;  the  final  realiza- 
tion of  an  empire  of  which  his  present  possession  was  only 
temporary,  caused  by  the  alienation  of  man  from  God."  ^  The 
height  and  depth  of  Satanic  usurpation  was  here  nakedly  dis- 
closed. The  arch  rebel  sliows  his  colours.  His  despair  of 
success  breathes  in  the  unspeakable  audacity  of  the  ofter.  It 
is  the  gambler's  last  stake,  all  that  he  has. 

The  first  Temptation  had  been  personal,  the  second 
ecclesiastical,  the  third  specially  Messianic.  The  first  attacked 
His  Manhood,  the  second  His  Priesthood  and  His  Prophetic 
office,  the  third  His   Royalty.     All  three  involved  a  denial  of 

'  Bp.  Mafee.  2  Edersheim,  i.  305. 


JO  JESUS  CHRIST. 

His  Messiahship,  of  His  character  and  office  as  the  Sers'ant  as 

well  as  the  Son  of  God,  of  His  true  Manhood.  In  the  last 
analysis,  the  essential  principle  in  each  case  amounted  to,  Deny 
God, 

"  Evil,  be  thou  my  good."  ' 

The  last  Temptation  closes  with  the  address  of  Satan  by 
^ame.  The  issue  had  never  been  in  doubt.  The  defeated 
assailant  flies  from  the  field.  The  Second  Adam,  and  in  Him 
humanity,  have  more  than  retrieved  the  Fall.  The  place  left 
vacant  by  the  fallen  angel  is  filled  by  those  who  had  been 
watching,  it  may  be,  hard  by,  spectators  of  the  lists  (cf.  i  Cor. 
iv.  9).  Man  did  eat  angels'  food  in  angels'  society.  It  is  a 
foretaste  of  the  triumphal  march  through  Paradise,  of  the 
Royal  Coronation  at  the  Victor's  return  home. 

The  Tempter  lefc  for  a  season  only.  The  Temptations 
recur  under  various  forms  and  forces.  One  of  the  titles  to 
office  and  work  in  His  Name  was  based  upon  the  fact  of 
having  been  with  Him  therein  (Luke  xxii.  28,29).  The  Tempta- 
tion was  not,  then,  an  isolated  incident  ;  it  was  intermittent,  if 
not  chronic.  It  was  an  haunting  pain,  a  dogging  mystery,  a 
dark  presence, 

"  Teucris  addita  Juno." 

"  His  last  word,  '  I  have  overcome  the  world,'  tells  how  sharp 
the  strife  had  been,  which  is  remembered  even  in  heaven,  as 
He  speaks  to  His  militant  Church,  and  tells  them  that  they 
shall  overcome,  even  as  I  also  overcame."  ^ 

The  Temptation  in  the  wilderness  stands  out  above  the 
others  in  its  solitariness  as  the  Temptation  of  temptations.  The 
edge  of  the  Tempter's  sword  was  broken.  The  end  was  as  the 
beginning,  the  victory  of  suffering  and  faith.  The  Temptation 
was  not  the  victory  of  one  man,  but  of  the  race  of  the  Second 
Adam.  The  Temptation  was  typical.  The  Temptation  was 
sacrificial.  The  Temptation  was  mediatorial.  The  Tempta- 
tion was  redemptive. 

'  Milton. 

•  W.  Robertson  NicoU,  "  The  Incarnate  Saviour,"  p.  88. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  LAMB  OF  GOD.  THE  DIVINE  SON  OF  MAN  AT  THE 
SOCIAL  FEAST.  THE  DIVINE  REFORMER  IN  THE  HOUSE 
OF   GOD.      THE   DIVINE   AND   THE   HUMAN    RABBI. 

"  Who  for  His  immense  love's  sake  was  made  that  which  we  are,  in  orde 
that  He  might  perfect  us  to  be  what  He  is"  (iREN^us  v.,  preface,  trans- 
lated by  Keble). 

The  first  disciples— Sense  of  sin  supreme  factor — The  Lamb  of  God — The 
Son  of  Man— The  Cana  wedding ;  its  promise— First  Messianic 
passover — The  Reformer — The  Casuist. 

While  Jesus  was  in  the  wilderness  His  servant  John  was  ripen- 
ing to  spiritual  maturity.  He  had  reached  the  full  height  of 
Messianic  faith  ;  and  now  crowned  his  self-devotion  by  the  free 
surrender  of  the  flower  of  His  disciples.  Jesus  was  returning, 
and  passing  Bethany,  or  Bethabara.  The  morning  before  the 
Baptist  declared  he  himself  was  neither  the  Messiah  nor 
Elijah,  nor  the  prophet  of  Moses'  promise  ;  nothing  but  an 
impersonal  voice.  The  next  day  (John  i.  29)— could  the  writer 
fail  to  remember  the  minute  incidents  of  his  spiritual  birthday.? 
— John  stood  with  the  Baptist  John  and  Andrew,  and  saw  their 
master's  look  upon  Jesus,  and  heard  his  confession  of  the  Lamb 
of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  As  St. 
Augustine  eloqentiy  paraphrases  it,  "  digito  demonstrans  ait, 
'Ecce  Agnus  Dei,  ecce  qui  tollit  peccatum  mundi  :  tanquam 
dicens,  Quern  multi  justi  videre  concupierunt,  in  quern  venturum 
ab  ipsius  humani  generis  initio  crediderunt,  de  quo  Abrah^e 
dictai  sunt  promissiones,  de  quo  scripsit  Moyses,  de  quo  Lex  et 
prophetae  sunt  testes." ' 

■  Con.  duas  Ep.  Pel.  iii.  iv.  ti. 


72  JESUS  CHRIST. 

The  words  show  how  the  strongest  force  which  impelled  the 
Johannine  disciples  to  Christ  was  a  personal  sense  of  sin.  They 
were  such  as  could  use  the  beautiful  confession  of  Augustine, 
"  I  perceived  myself  to  be  far  off  from  Thee,  in  the  region  of 
unlikeness." '  It  was  the  sense  of  sin  which  the  Law  had 
fostered  but  not  been  able  to  remove.  It  was  the  glory  of  the 
Law  that  it  could  reach  so  far.  Non-Christian  religions  lack 
this  largely,  or  altogether;  even  when  equivalent  terms  are 
used  the  meaning  is  wholly  different.  A  Chinese  Buddhist,  for 
instance,  would  consider  it  tsiii,  or  sin,  for  which  he  suffered,  if 
he  had  done  "  some  improper  act  unconsciously,  or  in  childhood, 
as  treading  on  an  insect,  wasting  rice-crumbs,  occ."  ^  So  again  in 
Confucianism,  the  restriction  of  the  worship  of  God  to  the 
sovereign  "  has  prevented  the  growth  and  wide  development 
among  the  Chinese  of  a  sense  of  sin.  Their  moral  short- 
comings, when  brought  home  to  them,  may  produce  a  feeling  of 
shame,  but  hardly  a  conviction  of  guilt."  ^  "So  Hinduism  does 
not  ignore  man's  sinfulness  altogether,  but  it  explains  it  away 
or  palliates  it."  The  populace  make  God  the  author  of  sin  ; 
others,  a  man's  misfortune  rather  than  his  fault  as  the  result  of 
former  births;  others,  that  sin,  like  the  world,  is  "a  mere 
illusion."  "  In  Hinduism,  considered  as  a  religion,  moral 
teaching  finds  no  place."''  Where  there  is  no  sense  of  moral 
evil  in  religion,  the  sense  of  sin  has  no  religious  existence,  and 
tends  to  depart  from  any  moral  connection  into  a  ceremonial 
one,  or  to  disappear  altogether.  In  Mohammedanism  again 
orthodoxy  covers  a  multitude  of  sins.  Sin  and  wrong  seem  to 
the  Mohammedans,  says  one  who  speaks  from  long  practical  as 
well  as  literary  experience,  "  things  that  can  be  wiped  out  by  a 
word,  and  they  must  be  very  grievous  indeed  if  an  orthodox 
profession  does  not  win  them  forgiveness.  They  have  never 
learnt  that  all  forgiveness  implies  sacrifice."  5 

The  modern  eclectic  Theists  of  the  Brahmo  Samaj  similarly 
regard  "  sin  as  only  a  natural  evil  requiring  remedial  treatment, 

*  Conf.  vii   lo. 

»Dr.  Edkins,  "Chinese  Buddhism,"  p.  193,   in  Dr.  Kellogg;  and  cf. 
Hardwick,  "  Christ  and  other  Masters,"  p.  160. 
3  Prof.  Legge,  p.  296. 

*  Bp.   Caldwell,  "  Christianity  and  Hinduism,"  pp,  29-50. 

5  Bp.  Steere,  Croydon  Church  Congress  Report,  in  The  Guardian 
1877  p.  1386. 


THE  LAMB  OF  GOD.  73 

and  not  as  a  moral  evil  deserving  punishment."  *  The 
presence  of  Christ  always  and  everywhere,  acted  as  a  con- 
suming fire.  The  sense  of  sin  would  be  increased,  or  created, 
when  a  seed-word  or  look  dropped  upon  unhardened  soil. 
Contrition  would  sometimes  have  brought  the  weary  and 
heavy-laden  to  Him,  and  sometimes  followed  upon  discipleship. 
It  is  so  still.  •'  I  read  them,"  said  a  Tioist  dignitary  who  had 
for  fifty  years  studied  and  tried  to  reach  the  ideal  of  Lao-tsze  ; 
"  I  read  them,"  said  this  Chinese  Simeon,  referring  to  some 
Christian  tracts,  "and  it  was  as  if  scales  fell  from  my  eyes."* 
John  himself  could  instil  contrition,  but  he  pointed  to  the 
Lamb  of  God  to  supply  its  satisfaction. 

The  words  show,  too,  the  greatness  of  the  Baptist's  faith.  No 
other  man  could  have  made  that  confession,  and  condensed  into 
an  epigram  of  the  soul  the  whole  prospective  teaching  of  the 
Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  worship.  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God  which  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world  !  "  It  was  more 
than  a  stroke  of  spiritual  genius,  it  was  a  coruscation  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  who  spake  to  and  by  the  prophets,  breaking  in 
light  upon  the  Paschal  Lamb,  the  daily  offering,  the  figure  of 
the  Atoning  Sufferer,  in  Isaiah  liii.,  and  the  "still  sad  music" 
of  sin  and  salvation  which  underlay  the  chants  of  psalmists, 
the  burdens  of  prophets,  the  sacrifices  of  priests,  the  prayers 
of  the  God-fearing.  It  was  a  decisive  speech  for  Christendom, 
a  birth  moment. 

Such  a  venture  of  faith  was  the  consummate  result  of  ages  of 
spiritual  development,  refined  and  specialized  in  the  disciplined 
patience  and  heart-whole  devotion  of  the  chosen  prophet-priest. 
The  Messianic  confession  takes  immediate  effect  upon  the  not 
unprepared  Andrew  and  John. 

'"Tis  the  taught  already  that  profits  by  teaching."  3 

Tlie  Rabbinic  answer  of  Jesus,  "  Come,  and  ye  shall  see,"  to 
the  question  (John  i.  39),  "  Rabbi,  where  abidest  Thou?"  is  a 
formal  invitation  to  discipleship.  He  appeals  to  personal 
experience.  Experience  is  a  test  as  valid  in  things  spiritual  as 
physical. 

»  Canon  Churton,  from  Rev.  N.  Goreb,   "  The  Brahmos  ;  their  Idea  of 
Sin  and  its  Punishment,"  Mission  Life,  October,  1883. 
»  Legge,  p.  297  3  R.  Browning. 


74  JESUS  CHRIST. 

Andrew,  the  first  Christian,  findeth  his  brother  Simon,  and 
with  the  most  momentous  words  a  son  of  Israel  could  hear, 
"  we  have  found  the  Messiah,"  leadeth  the  son  of  John  to 
Jesus.  This  family  forms  the  germ  of  the  Church.  The 
Church  develops  by  families.  The  family  is  the  primitive  unit 
of  Church  life  and  propagation.  The  house  of  Andrew  foreruns 
the  house  of  Zebedee,  the  house  of  Zebedee  the  churches  in  the 
house  of  Prisca  and  Aquila,  of  Philemon,  of  Nymphas  and  his 
friends,  of  the  "  collegium  quod  est  indomo  Sergiee  Paulinas."  ' 

On  the  morrow,  minutely  remembered,  Philip  of  Bethsaida, 
a  fellow  townsman,  and  doubtless  friend  of  Andrew  and  Simon, 
is  found  of  Christ,  and  himself  finds  Nathanael.  By  a  Divine 
thought-reading  Jesus  works  instantaneous  conviction  in  the 
heart  of  the  guileless  Israelite.  Spiritual  affinities  flash  into 
contact.  Nathanael  saw  in  Jesus  the  Son  of  God  and  the  King 
of  Israel  ;  the  very  thought  of  his  thoughts  as  he  mused  under 
the  shadow  of  his  fig-tree.^  Jesus  revealed  Himself  to  him  as 
the  Son  of  Man. 

The  Cana  miracle  explains  the  title  in  action.  How  far  the 
title  was  new  to  Jewish  experience  is  a  critical  question. 
Daniel's  vision  of  a  Son  of  Man  seems  far  too  distinctly  per- 
sonal to  be  dreamed  into  an  idealized  nation.  Enoch,  in  the 
Book  of  the  Three  Parables,  frequently  uses  the  title,  but  this 
portion  of  his  Apocalypse  is  probably  of  Christian  origin.  In 
Rabbinic  literature  the  name.  Son  of  Man,  is  not  used  of  the 
Messiah. 3  The  name,  then,  seems  to  have  been  unknown  as  a 
Messianic  title  to  the  Jews  of  our  Lord's  time.  Here  we  have, 
then,  a  title  due  to  the  creative  mind  of  Jesus  Himself,  or 
drawn  out  from  unsuspected  germs.  The  fulness  of  meaning 
germinant  in  the  term  remains  for  all  the  centuries  of  Christian 
life  to  develop. 

If  Conder's  identification  of  Bethabara,  or  Bethany,  with 
the  ford  of  'Abarah,  near  Beisan,  as  the  place  of  Christ's 
Baptism  be  accepted,  it  was  but  a  day's  journey  distant   from 

'  Col.  iv.  15,  and  Bp.  Liglitfoot,  s.  I. 

*  As  a  sacred  fig-tree  is  mentioned  in  the  case  of  the  Buddha,  as  the 
place  of  the  first  conversions  to  his  religion,  and  of  his  entrance  on  his 
ministry,  Professor  Seydel  grounds  upon  this,  in  conneclibn  with  four  other 
alleged  but  illusive  coincidences,  the  inference  that  the  gospel  is  more  or 
less  dependent  upon  and  derivable  from  the  Buddhist  legend.  Vide  Kel- 
logg, p.  85  foil.  ;  Kuenen,  lecture  v.  and  note  xiii.  for  a  complete  refutation. 

3  Stanton,  confirmed  by  Dr.  Schiller  Szinessy. 


THE   DIVINE   SON    OF   MAN    AT    JHE    SOCIAL    FEAST.  Jt 

Cana  or  Nazareth.  'Abarah  is  the  principal  ford  of  the  Jordan,' 
north  of  Beisan,^  and  is  "  about  twenty-two  miles  in  a  line  from 
Kefr  Kenna."  The  variant  and  preferable  reading,  Bethania, 
is  probably  only  Beth-Oniyah,^  the  house  of  shipping,  and 
another  appellation  for  Beth-Abara,  the  "  house  of  passage,"  or 
"of  shipping."  This  identification  invalidates  the  objections 
of  Schenkel,  and  the  author  of  "  Supernatural  Religion,''  to  the 
geographical  accuracy  of  the  fourth  Evangelist,  and  the  as- 
sumptions built  thereupon. 

Kefr  Kenna,  the  traditional  Cana,  is  now  a  large  village, 
lying  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  plain  of  the  fertile  "  Golden 
Plain,"  or  plain  of  Toran.  The  balance  of  authority  strongly 
supports  it  in  preference  to  Khurbet  Kana. 

The  distance  from  Nazareth  is  but  five  miles.  The  proximity 
suggests  that  the  bridegroom  or  bride  of  the  marriage  feast 
were  friends  of  the  family  of  Mary  or  Joseph.  At  the  south 
of  the  village  is  still  found  "  a  copious  fountain  of  excellent 
water,"  which  may  have  supplied  the  waterpots.  The  village 
of  Christ's  day  appears  to  have  been  "at  least  thrice  as  large 
as  now."     Cana  is  still  the  "  reedy,"  as  its  name  suggests. 

Here,  probably  Wednesday,  Jesus  and  His  mother  and  His 
disciples  came  as  guests  to  a  wedding  feast.  Jesus  had  con- 
secrated home  life  at  Nazareth.  The  highest  and  holiest  point 
of  home  life  He  consecrates  at  Cana.  The  Divine  origin  and 
character  and  meaning  of  marriage  He  reaffirms  most  fitly 
where  Scripture  and  Rabbinical  tradition  alike  would  hallow 
the  mystery.  The  presence  of  His  mother  appears  to  have 
occasioned  the  invitation  to  Jesus  and  His  disciples.  The 
unlooked-for  addition  possibly  caused  the  insufficiency  of  wine. 
Galilean  simplicity  and  kindness  ruled  the  day. 

When  the  wine  fails  the  mother  turns  naturally  to  Jesus,  as 
in  any  need  of  the  Nazarene  household.  But  "  the  hour",  the 
tine  for  Messianic  revelation— and  Mary  could  not  have  been 
a  stranger  to  all  that  had  happened  in  the  last  forty  and  more 
days,  and  the  confessions  of  faith — lay  not  with  her,  but  with 
God.      Having    vindicated   His  Messianic  independence,  the 

*  For  a  picture  of  a  Jordan  ford  see  Warren,  "  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,'' 
P-  335- 

»  "Survey,"  p.  131  f.  ;  "Twenty-One  Years,''  p.  96  ;  Conder,  "Tent 
Life,"  ii.  65  f.  3  Edershcim,  i.  278. 


?6  JESUS   CHRIST. 

Son  of  Mary  grants  her  indirect  prayer.  The  water  which 
filled  the  six  waterpots,  perhaps  drawn  from  the  existing 
fountain,  variously  estimated  at  from  63  to  153  gallons  ac- 
cording to  the  measure  of  the  metretes  (Hebrew  bath),  became 
wine. 

The  Messianic  effect  of  the  first  miracle  is  specially  noted  by 
St.  John.     His  and  his  fellow-disciples'  faith  was  confirmed. 

Christian  thought  has  seen  much  more  than  a  wedding  gift 
in  the  boon  of  Jesus.  The  first  supper  points  on  to  the  last, 
and  both  to  the  marriage-supper  of  the  Lamb.  The  Cana 
wedding  looks  back  to  the  marriage  between  Jehovah  and  His 
people,  ratified  and  renewed  betwixt  Christ  and  His  Church. 
The  transmutation  of  water  into  wine  suggests  the  final  trans- 
formation and  glorification  of  Nature,  the  consecration  of 
matter  under  ennobled  forms.  The  Christ  blessing  of  the 
wedding  party  shows  that  "all  life  is  potentially  divine,"  '  and 
that  all  social  relations  are  transformable  into  a  communion  of 
saints. 

Again,  the  miracle  deserves  all  the  emphasis  of  its  first  place. 
For  it  is  typical.  "As  the  first  act  of  the  new  creation,  it  shows 
what  the  nature  of  that  creation  is  to  be."  '  "  As  the  first  leaf 
which  the  plant  produces  is  the  type  upon  which  the  whole 
plant  is  constructed  ;  and  foliage,  flower,  and  fruit  are  but 
modifications  of  the  primordial  leaf;"  so  the  first  Divine  work 
is  "a  key  to  the  character  of  the  whole  series."  It  is  Eucharistic. 
The  gospel  is  joy.  The  Christ  came  from  joy  to  bring  to  joy, 
from  glory  to  glorify. 

Family  ties  were  breaking,  but  not  yet  sundered.  The  Holy 
Family  and  the  disciples  went  down  to  Capernaum,  thence- 
forward the  head  quarters  of  Messianic  work. 

As  the  Cana  sign  was  typical  of  the  Divine  power  of  bene- 
dictory joy  entering  into  a  joyless  world  ;  so  the  Temple- 
cleansing  which  soon  followed  was  typical  of  Divine  wrath. 
It  was  the  same  character  under  opposite  conditions.  As  a 
Messianic  sign  the  former  was  to  bless,  the  latter  to  ban. 
The  one  as  much  as  the  other  was  an  assertion  of  the  Messianic 
claim.  The  Divine  Man  to  nature,  to  society,  to  religion,  was 
uttering  Himself.     On  either  occasion,  time  and  place  are  fit-" 

•  H.  Macmillan,  "The  Marriage  in  Cana,"  p.  16. 
"  Ibid.,  p.  224. 


THE   DIVINE   REFORMER   IN   THE   HOUSE  OF  GOD.  7/ 

test  scenes  for  Divine  drama,  the  wedding  feast,  the  national 
Temple,  the  home  of  man,  the  house  of  God. 

The  first  Messianic  passover  was  now  nigh  at  hand.  All 
over  the  country  preparations  were  going  on.  Over  flower-lit 
plains  and  hills,  along  repaired  roads,  by  cleansed  streams, 
by  tombs  freshly  whitened,  pilgrims  poured  from  all  parts  of 
Jewry.  The  far-shining  marble  walls  and  golden  roof  of  the 
Temple  was  their  goal.  All  this  preparatory  purification  was 
an  unconscious  prophecy  of  the  Messianic  work  of  purifying 
which  would  begin  with  the  House  of  God.  From  the  15th 
Adar  the  money  changers'  stalls  rang  in  every  town.  The 
statutable  Temple  tribute  must  be  paid  in  the  half-shekel,  and 
the  charge  of  qolbon  '  must  be  met  for  the  change. 

What  a  scene  of  noise  and  confusion  opened  upon  the  eyes 
of  the  Messiah  as  He  made  His  first  entrance  as  the  Son  of 
Man  into  His  Father's  house.  What  disappointment  to  a 
rnind  filled  with  preparatory  awe  in  approaching  the  greatest 
feast  of  the  Church  !  The  lowing  of  the  sacrificial  oxen,  the 
bleating  of  the  sacrificial  sheep,  the  moan  of  the  sacrificial 
doves,  the  jingling  of  coins,  the  hubbub  of  barter,  had  turned 
the  court  where  (lentiles  worshipped  the  Father  of  all  into  a 
Babel  market.  The  shock  was  too  great  to  be  borne.  The 
evil  must  be  met  full  face  at  once.  If  any  ordinary  Jew, 
Phinehas-like,  might  champion  God's  honour  against  illegal 
authorized  desecration,  much  more  should  the  Messiah  vindi- 
cate God's  exclusive  claim  to  the  place  where  He  had  put  His 
Name.  Casting  out  all  the  lawbreakers,  Jesus  in  one  judicial 
moment  stood  upon  the  platform  of  the  prophet  and  the  re- 
former. The  boldness  and  success  of  the  stroke  was  a  miracle 
of  moral  force.  It  was  a  direct  challenge  to  the  priestly 
faction,  who  were  the  chief  shareholders  in  this  Vanity  Fair. 
The  Temple  market  was  probably  the  "  Bazaars  of  the  sons  of 
lAnnas,"  the  covetous  oppressor  (Chanuyoth  beney  Chanan). 
The  Temple  was  profaned  by  its  own  highest  officers.  The 
unpopularity  of  the  traffic  may  have  given  negative  support 
to  Christ's  action.  The  effect  upon  the  priest  party  was  to 
awake  a  rancour  which  never  forgot.  The  effect  upon  the 
disciples  was  naturally  to  deepen  their  convictions,  and  likewise 
to  increase  their  number.     Such  a  temper  was  pre-eminently 

'  lid  to  2d.,  hence  icoWwiSog,  ico\\r0tffr^c.  ! 


•/S  JESUS   CHRIST. 

Messianic.  A  Messianic  Psalm  had  foreshadowed  the  devour- 
ing zeal  shown  by  the  Lord.     And  other  signs  followed. 

This  act  was  critical  and  formed  two  parties.  The  "  sign  " 
was  spoken  for  and  against.  The  disciples  formed  the  nucleus 
of  the  Messianic  party,  the  Jews,  as  St.  John  terms  the  hostile 
faction,  the  anti-Christian.  The  latter  demand  a  sign,  the  in- 
variable reply  to  any  Messianic  assertion.  The  answer  was 
mystical.  The  Temple  of  His  Body,  which  was  now  the  true 
Temple  into  which  all  the  meaning  and  worship  of  the  latter  was 
passing,  let  them  destroy  it,  He  would  raise  it  again  in 
three  days.  This  intimation  in  His  first  official  Messianic  work 
shows  that  the  end  was  full  in  view.  Sacrifice,  Death,  Resurrec- 
tion— the  end  was  before  the  beginning.  Nor  were  the  words 
forgotten  by  His  enemies. 

The  sharp  turns  in  the  Johannine  narrative  may  be  of  set 
purpose.  Scene  in  the  life  contrasts  with  scene  ;  and  cross 
lights  converge  upon  the  one  character.  From  the  crowded 
Temple  the  disciple  carries  us  to  the  silent  room  (John  iii.). 
From  the  public  clamour  to  the  darkness  and  the  solitary 
thinker.  From  a  descriptive  picture  to  a  character  sketch. 
The  writer's  object  is  not  to  give  an  encyclopeedic  history,  but 
a  vivid  personal  memorial.  He  selects  typical  scenes.  The 
fourth  Gospel  is  the  most  individual  and  the  most  universal. 
The  light,  the  truth,  the  Word,  absolute,  very  God.  The  light, 
the  truth,  the  Word  in  contact  with  individuals  ;  faith  or  un- 
belief the  necessary  answer.  Nicodemus  (Naqdimon)  was  a 
representative  man.  A  Sanhedrist,  a  cultivated  gentleman,  an 
intellectual  inquirer,  a  seeker  after  truth.  Like  many  of  the 
nation  he  was  spiritually  awake.  The  miracles  of  the  Passover 
week  had  arrested  his  attention.  Miracles  had  done  for  him 
all  they  can  do,  they  had  brought  him  questioning,  seeking,  to 
the  Royal  Presence.  The  obstinate  questions  which  importuned 
an  answer  must  be  brought  to  Him  who  i"aised  them.  The 
"how  "of  Nicodemus  exactly  reflects  his  character  and  point 
of  view.  Christ  throughout  replies  to  his  latent  as  well  as 
expressed  thought.  There  is  no  concession  to  the  social 
position,  educational  prejudices,  or  intellectual  prepossession? 
of  the  master  in  Israel.  The  master  must  learn  to  be  a  disci pk, 
the  teacher  to  be  taught  of  God.  The  kingdom  of  God,  the 
substance  and  desire  of  all  Jewish  thought,  was  come  and  in 
His  own  Person.      The  laws  of   that  kingdom  were   after  a 


THE  DIVINE  AND    THE   HUMAN   RABBI.  79 

heavenly  and  spiritual  order.  A  second  birth  and  spiritual 
childhood  were  required  to  enter  into  it.  The  night  wind  that 
swept  past  thealiyah  along  the  dark  and  narrow  street  was  an 
"apt  figure  of  a  self-determining  invisible  force"  ' — that  force 
the  action  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  Jesus  not  only  lays  down  the 
law  of  Christian  Baptism  as  the  initial  Sacrament  of  the 
Kingdom,  but  also  determines  the  rightful  temper  of  the 
mind  towards  the  mysteries  of  the  Kingdom.  The  "  how  " 
is  knowable  to  faith  alone.  The  child  years,  or  the  child  heart, 
accept  the  personal  word  of  Christ  as  credible  upon  its  own 
merits. 

The  conversation  moves  on  from  mystery  to  mystery.  To  a 
mind  so  thorough  and  so  well  furnished  as  Nicodemus',  at  all 
events  in  the  Law,  the  only  culture  of  the  Palestinian  Jew,  one 
question  suggests  another.  St.  John  has  doubtless  given  but  a 
fragmentary  outline.  The  new  teaching  and  the  demand  it 
made  raised  the  question  of  its  authorization.  Christ  speaks 
openly  of  His  pre-existence,  and  of  the  coming  shadow  of  His 
death,  in  fulfilment  of  the  type  of  the  brazen  serpent. 

The  death  to  which  He  had  obscurely  alluded  in  the  Temple 
is  still  in  His  mind.  This  truth  sunk  deep  into  Nicodemus' 
mind.  It  bore  fruit.  The  Cross  is  always  the  turning  point. 
Under  the  Cross  the  victory  of  conviction,  was  complete,  and 
he  stepped  forward  to  honour  the  forsaken  Body. 

Nicodemus,  the  Jewish  savant,  honestly  yielding  to  the  pres- 
sure of  evidence,  as  to  an  imperious  spiritual  and  intellectual 
necessity,  is  a  speaking  likeness  of  many  moderns.  Among 
the  higher  class  of  cultivated  heathen  there  are  not  a  few  in  whom 
the  prejudice  of  society  and  the  pride  of  secular  culture  are 
breaking  up.  But  with  them  conviction  maybe  slowly  wrought. 
And  the  distance  between  conviction  and  action — e.g.,  in  the 
case  of  the  native  Indian  half-Christian — is  as  great  as  Oriental 
irresolution  can  make  it.  And  within  the  Christian  circle,  too, 
there  are  many  who  are  asking  the  inexorable  how,  in  every 
tense  of  the  interrogative  mood  ;  and  many  too  impatient  to 
wait  for  an  answer  "  a  little  while." 

*  H.  P.  Liddon,  "  University  Sermons,"  ii.  8u 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   baptist's     FAREWELL    TESTIMONY.      THE    SAVIOUR  AND 
THE  SAMARITANESS.     THE  NAZARENE. 

"  Life,  I  repeat,  is  energy  of  love 
Divine  or  human  ;  exercised  in  pain, 
In  strife,  in  tribulation  ;  and  ordained, 
If  so  approved  and  sanctified,  to  pass, 
Through  shades  and  silent  rest  to  endless  joy." 

Wordsworth,  "Excursion,"  Book  V. 

Jesus  on    the  Baptist's  ground— The  Prophet's  last   testimony— Jesus  in 
Samaria — The  Well  of  Jacob — In  Galilee  again — In  Nazareth  again. 

Jesus  now  left  the  City  for  Jiidsea.  His  disciples  administered 
a  symbolical  preparatory  baptism,  empty  as  yet  of  the  Spirit. 
The  work  of  the  Baptist  was  carried  on.  But  it  is  possible  that 
he  had  never  been  as  far  south.  The  traditional  site  of  his 
baptizing  in  Judcea  would  then  have  to  be  given  up. 
The  Gospels  only  mention  Bethabara  and  JEnon,  both  north  of 
Judasa.  But  as  the  people  of  Jerusalem  and  all  Judcea  are 
specially  mentioned  as  coming  to  his  baptism,  and  as  he  would 
be  more  likely  to  begin  in  the  south  and  move  northward,  it  is 
more  likely  that  he  had  been  in  the  very  places,  and  left  among 
those  who  dwelt  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Jordan  souls  maturing 
for  the  advent  of  the  King  (Matt.  iii.  5).  "  At  this  point,  then, 
the  work  of  Christ  and  of  His  Forerunner  met.  Christ  had 
not  been  acknowledged  as  King  in  the  chief  seat  of  the  theocracy; 
therefore  He  began  His  work  afresh  in  a  new  field  and  in  a  new 
character."  * 

'  Dr.  Westcott. 


THE    BAPTIST'S    FAREWELL   TESTIMONV.  81 

As  Jesus  passed  northward  His  disciples  and  John's  would 
meet  and  intermingle.  The  stronger  force  overbore  the  weaker. 
Perhaps  in  jealousy  the  disciples  of  the  Baptist  upon  the  occasion 
of  a  controversy  with  a  Jew  upon  one  of  the  numerous  current 
questions  connected  with  purification  bring  him  the  tidings  of 
Jesus'  greater  success,  and  of  what  might  appear  to  them  as 
the  defection  of  his  own  partisans  to  another.  The  answer  of 
the  forerunner  was  as  noble  as  characteristic,  "  He  must  increase, 
but  I  must  decrease."  Nothing  ecjual  to  it  had  been  said  before 
him,  except  Moses'  "  Enviest  thou  for  n.y  sake  ?  " 

It  was  a  fitting  peroration  to  his  life's  testimony.  He  had 
borne  the  prophet's  cross  without  of  malice,  and  calumny,  mis- 
representation—of lighting  as  God's  standard-bearer  against  a 
rebellious  house.  He  had  borne  the  prophet's  cross  within  of 
failure,  self-distrust,  and  the  coming  short  of  high  ideals.  He 
now  bore  the  rising  tide  of  loss  in  personal  disciples  and  per- 
sonal influence,  the  diminution  of  the  faithful  remnant,  not 
with  equanimity,  but  with  joyous  joy.' 

Whilst  Jesus'  disciples  were  baptizing  in  Judcca,  John  seems 
to  have  followed  the  course  of  the  Jordan  southward  from 
Bethabara.  This  may  have  been  partly  to  avoid  the  growing 
ferocity  of  Pharisaic  antagonism,  partly  to  prepare  the  way  of 
Christ  at  a  central  situation,  convenient  both  for  the  north,  for 
Samaria,  and  for  the  main  road  from  the  south.  For  ^non 
near  to  Salim  is  by  Conder  and  others  identified  with  'AinCin, 
at  the  head  of  the  Wady  Far-ah,  "  which  is  the  great  highway 
up  from  the  Damieh  ford  for  those  coming  from  the  east  by 
way  of  Peniel  and  Succoth  ;  "  Salim  being  seven  miles  north- 
ward, perhaps  the  Shalem  of  Gen.  xxxiii.  1 8.  The  Wady 
Far-ah,  starting  at  Shechem,  formed  the  north  boundary  of 
Judaea  ;  and  the  open  ground  there  is  just  the  place  for  crowds 
to  assemble.  Here,  too,  is  the  "  much  water,"  or  many  springs, 
indicated  by  the  name. 

The  objection,  however,  that  ^Enon  and  Salim  would  both 
then  be  in  Samaria  has  great  force.  And  the  old  tradition, 
mentioned  by  Jerome,  placing  it  eight  miles  south  of  Beisan 
(Scythopolis),  apparently  "  at  the  opening  of  the  Wady 
Khusneh  into  the  Ghor,"^  on  the  border  of  Samaria  and 
Galilee,  "  has  this  in  its  favour — that  it  locates  the  scene  of 
John's  last  public  work  close  to  the  seat  of  Herod  Antipas, 
'  Xapaxoipti'  (Johniii.  29).  »  Caspar!. 

7 


82  JESUS  CHRIST. 

into  whose  power  the  Baptist  was  so  soon  to  be  delivered."'  It 
is  also  nearer  'Abarah  where  John  was  last  heard  of.  In  any 
case  there  is  not  the  slightest  indication,  but  every  probability 
to  the  contrary,  that  Jesus  and  John  met  again  after  the 
Baptism. 

The  Baptist's  martyrdom  of  life  was  now  drawing  to  an  end. 
Herod  was  a  suspicious  coward  like  Tiberius  himself,  and 
according  to  Josephus,  "fearing  lest  such  influence  of  his  over 
the  people  might  lead  to  some  rebellion,  for  they  seemed  ready 
to  do  anything  by  his  counsel,""  resolved  upon  his  arrest  and 
death. 

"  Calm  's  not  life's  crown  ;  "  3 

this  life's  crown  was  very  storm.  His  capture,  of  which  we 
should  have  been  glad  of  particulars,  for  we  might  have  found 
some  of  the  indignities  of  Herod's  soldiers  to  the  Master 
anticipated  upon  the  servant,  took  place  about  this  time.  The 
Synoptists  ignore  the  ostensible,  and  disclose  another  and 
weightier,  reason  which  actuated  Herod  ;  for  personal  offence 
is  a  deeper  spring  of  hatred  than  political  antipathy,  and  would 
be  keenest  of  edge  in  such  a  mean,  sensual,  nature  as  Herod's. 
His  outspoken  rebuke  of  his  incestuous  connection  with 
Herodias  stung  him  too  sharply  for  pardon.  When  he  was  in 
his  power  the  king  paid  him  the  tribute  of  attentive  listening. 
He  was  interested.  He  had,  if  no  religious  scruples,  religious 
curiosity  and  sensibility.  He  could  be  moved  in  his  feelings 
to  anything  but  repentance  and  heart  change.  Like  the  guilty, 
conscience-stricken  king  in  Hamlet,  he  would  like  to 

"  Be  pardon'd,  and  retain  the  offence." 

The  capture  of  the  Baptist  endangered  Christ.  The  Pharisaic 
party,  with  the  sharpsightedness  of  hate,  must  have  already 
seen  that  the  cause  of  the  two  was  identical.  They  would  take 
the  one  life  on  their  way  to  the  other.  Had  not  the  Lord  kept 
out  of  danger  He  could  easily  have  been  arrested  on  such  a 
false  accusation  as  He  afterwards  was.  He  could  have  been 
imprisoned  in  Mach^erus.  The  Forerunner  and  the  Messiah 
would  have  been  executed  together,  and  the  blood  of  the 
world's  ransom  been  shed  in  a  rocky  cell.     So  would  Scripture 

*  Edersheim,  i.  393.  •  "Ant."  xviii.  5.  2.  s  M.  Arnold. 


THE  BAPTIST'S   FAREWELL  TESTIMONY.  83 

have  been  unfulfilled,  and  the  agony  and  Cross  spared  to  the 
Saviour,  and  lost  to  the  children  of  His  salvation.  The  life 
of  the  Son  of  Man  was  too  precious  to  be  thrown  away.  Our 
Lord  was  courage  itself,  but  not  presumption  or  rashness. 
Persecuted  from  one  city.  He  would  on  occasion  flee  to  another. 
Endangered  in  one  place.  He  would  seek  safety  of  His  life,  and 
His  kingdom,  and  His  teaching,  and  all  that  depended  upon 
them,  without  hurrying  to  fatal  issues,  or  hastening  by  one 
moment  the  movement  of  Scriptural  fulfilments,  and  the 
season  of  Divine  appointment. 

To  reach  Galilee  the  natural  road  lay  through  Samaria. 
This  was  taken  by  the  Lord.  One  Samaritan  incident  is 
graven  in  the  memory  of  the  fourth  Evangelist.  Perhaps  for 
personal  reasons.  He  may,  as  some  think,  have  been  the 
solitary  witness  ;  and  the  account  bears  the  marks  of  an  eye- 
witness in  such  incidental  pictorial  details  a<^  "  sat  thus,"  and 
the  woman  "  left  her  waterpot."  And  the  Samaritan  episode  as 
a  whole  formed  a  most  encouraging  contrast  to  the  Judyean 
experience.  The  Messiah  was  well  received.  The  conversion 
of  the  unnamed  woman  was  fruitful  in  a  harvest  of  ingathering. 
Samaria  was,  too,  the  scene  of  St.  John's  own  apostolic  labours 
when  he  and  St.  Peter  went  down  from  Jerusalem  to  lay  their 
hands  upon  those  who  had  been  taught  and  baptized  by  Philip 
the  Evangelist.  Personal  associations  are  so  impressing  a 
factor  in  memories  of  time  and  place  that  some  of  the  above- 
named  reasons  would  account  for  the  minuteness  and  freshness 
of  personal  portraiture  and  local  colouring  shown  in  the  account. 

While  Jesus  sat  in  the  weariness  of  a  real  humanity  at  the 
sixth,  or  evening,  hour,'  let  us  pause  to  reflect  upon  the  associa- 
tions of  the  scene,  and  its  present  condition  to-day.  It  was  the 
Well  of  Jacob — the  laborious  work  of  "  a  stranger  in  the  land  " 
where  surface  springs  were  abundant,  who  was  confident  of  its 
tenure  by  his  prosperity,  according  to  Divine  promise.  It  was 
a  monument  to  the  industry  and  faith  of  Jacob,  and  bears  his. 
name,  honoured  by  Jew,  Samaritan,  Moslem,  and  Christian  to 
this  day.  Joseph,  too,  had  his  memorial  hard  by,  less  than 
half  a  mile,  on  the  north.  The  Tomb  of  Joseph  occupies  the 
accepted  authentic  site,  and  is  now  a  square,  roofless,  white- 
walled  enclosure,  resembling  most  of  the  Moslem  cenotaphs. 

'  Westcott  and  Maclellan  have  settled  the  question  of  the  Johannine 
reckoning  of  hours  quite  conclusively. 


84  JESUS  CHRIST, 

On  the  south  towered  the  rough,  rocky  slopes  of  Gerizim 
"  about  looo  feet  above  the  valley  east  of  Shechem,  2848  feet 
above  the  sea,"  the  mountain  of  the  Old  Beatitudes,  the  "  holy 
mountain  "  of  Samaritan  faith.  On  the  west  the  olives,  vine 
yards,  and  varied  foliage  of  the  many-watered  Vale  of  Shechem, 
most  fertile  of  valleys,  Ebal  rising  behind,  mountain  of  curses 
and  Joshua's  altar  of  unhewn  stones.  On  Ebal's  slope  the 
town  of  Sychar,  now  the  mud  huts  of  'Askar,  about  half  a 
mile  off;  coming  from  which  to  the  well  the  Samaritans  would 
have  been  in  the  Lord's  sight.  The  site,  too,  of  the  Tomb  of 
the  "  Holy  King  Joshua,"  as  the  Samaritans  call  him,  appears 
to  be  rightly  identified  as  but  nine  miles  south  of  the  present 
Nablus.  On  the  north-east  the  neighbourhood  of  Shalem,  but 
two  miles  distant,  with  its  memory  of  Jacob's  tents,  at  Shechem, 
a  mile  and  a  half  distant,  Abraham  had  made  his  first  encamp- 
ment, and  built  the  altar  on  the  ground  which  Jacob  had  after- 
wards purchased.  Here,  too,  "by  the  oak  of  the  pillar  that 
was  in  Shechem"  (Judg.  ix.  6),  Abimelech  had  been  made  the 
first  king.  Hither  had  come  Rehoboam,  "  for  all  Israel  were 
come  to  Shechem  to  make  him  king"(l  Kings  xii.  l)  ;  and 
here  Jeroboam  set  up  his  rival  kingdom. 

However  weary  the  Lord  was,  such  a  speaking  scene  could 
not  have  been  mute  to  the  Son  of  Israel.  The  spot  where  He 
rested,  being  so  certainly  identified,  is  all  but  the  most  worship- 
ful in  the  Holy  Land.  The  well  is  now  covered  with  a  ruined 
vault,  which  may  "  possibly  be  the  crypt  of  the  church  built 
over  the  well  about  the  fourth  century."'  The  well  is  now 
generally  dry.  Originally  it  must  have  been  of  great  depth, 
for  in  1838  it  was  105  feet  deep,  according  to  Robinson  ;  in 
1866  the  accumulation  of  debris  had  reduced  it  to  75  feet  ;  in 
1875  it  remained  the  same.  The  groove  in  the  stone  made  by 
the  ropes  which  drew  up  the  waterpot  may  still  be  felt.- 

While  Jesus  rested  the  disciples  went  to  buy  food,  allowably 
purchasable  of  the  Samaritans  then,  but  not  later.  If  John 
did  not  stay  with  Him — as  would  be  the  most  natural  negative 
inference  from  the  twenty-seventh  verse,  and  the  omission  of 
any  mention  of  another  witness,  the  absence  of  a  third  person 
may  have  not  been  fortuitous  in  the  Saviour's  solemnity  and 
delicacy  of  contact  with  the  fallen  daughter  of  Samaria.     In 

*  "  Survey,'  ii.  p.  177  ;  Barclay,  1881. 
»  "  Twenty-On  e  Years,"  p.  194,  and  illustration. 


THE  SAVIOUR   AND  THE  SAMARITANESS.  83 

that  case  the  narrative  may  well  have  come  from  the  thankful 
lips  of  a  convert,  at  the  time,  or  at  St.  John's  after-visit. 

It  is  another  contrast  which  now  fills  the  Johannine  canvas,  a 
contrast  of  scene,  society,  and  character.  The  dialogue  with  the 
Samaritan  woman  follows  close  upon  that  with  Nicodemus. 
The  scene  is  very  fully  given.  Doubtless  St.  John's  apostolic 
visitation  of  Samaria  was  one  of  the  later  fruits  of  this  Samari- 
tan episode.  Christ's  spiritual  treatment  of  the  doubly  outcast 
Cuthite  is  the  opposite  of  His  treatment  of  the  Jerusalem 
Sanhedrist.  In  the  latter  He  repels  ;  in  the  former  He  attracts. 
In  the  latter  He  is  sought :  in  the  former  He  seeks.  In  the  latter 
His  speech  has  the  ring  of  authority  ;  in  the  former  He  stoops 
to  conquer.  The  spiritual  meeting-point  between  the  Divine 
and  the  earthly  Rabbi  was  found  in  the  signs  of  Divine  power. 
The  spiritual  touch  between  the  Saviour  and  the  sinner  in  her 
consciousness  of  sin. 

Nicodemus  and  the  Samaritaness  agreed  in  a  Messianic  hope 
of  some  sort.  But  the  former  started  from  the  full  Scripture 
canon  and  the  post-canonical  literature  ;  the  latter  from  the 
Mosaic  books  only,  in  a  tampered  and  falsified  text.  The  former 
from  the  Law,  of  which  he  was  a  master  ;  the  latter  from  the 
inferiority  and  ignorance  of  a  degraded  womanhood.  The 
former  from  orthodoxy  ;  the  latter  from  heresy  and  schism. 
The  former  from  social  honour  ;  the  latter  from  shame.  The 
venture  of  faith  was  as  slow  in  the  former  as  rapid  in  the  other. 
The  "  personal  equation  "  made  the  difference,  and  unknown 
developments  of  inward  history.  No  one  else  in  the  world 
could  have  united  in  a  common  interest,  preparatory  to  a 
common  brotherhood,  two  such  opposites  as  the  proud  Sanhe- 
drist, and  the  low  Samaritaness. 

As  the  Lord  sat  by  the  well  in  restful  silence,  the  woman  of 
Sychar  came  there,  as  she  may  have  come  hundreds  of  times 
before.  Evening  is  still  called  in  that  changeless  East  "  the 
time  that  women  go  out  to  draw  water."  '  She  was  indeed  an  un- 
conscious type  and  representative  of  the  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands of  the  then  and  still  degraded,  downtrodden  daughters  of 
Eastern  lands,  whom  nothing  but  the  strong  arm  of  Christian 
faith  can  raise,  and  the  power  of  Christian  civilization  elevate  to 
their  true  place  and  function  in  the  kingdom  of  a  world-winning 
Christ.  It  is  not  likely  that  the  women  of  half-heathen  Samaria 
»  Rev.  J.  Neil,  "Palestine  Explored,"  p.  19. 


86  JESUS  CHRIST. 

occupied  as  honourable  a  position  as  those  in  Israel,  and  the 
higher -class  women  of  Israel  fell  far  below  the  standard  of 
respect,  of  chivalry,  of  importance,  of  influence,  of  work 
accorded  to  them  in  Christian  societies  and  civilizations. 

In  defiance  of  conventional  manners  and  proprieties  the  Lord 
spoke  first.  The  dialogue  is  deeply  instructive  as  showing  more 
cleai\y  than  any  other  on  record  how  the  Lord  dealt  with  those 
He  sought  to  salvation.  There  is  the  quick  play  of  conscience 
alarmed,  but  evasive  ;  the  rapid  thrust  which  wounds  in  order  to 
heal ;  the  courtesy,  the  respect  to  a  woman,  a  Samaritaness,  and 
a  bad  character  ;  the  change  of  front  by  wounded  self-love  to  a 
controversial  subject  ;  the  wonderful  and  profound  revelations 
of  Christ,  of  His  Father,  and  of  the  worship  of  His  Father, 
undisclosed  to  Jewish  ears. 

The  earthly  water  our  Lord  graciously  asked  for  suggested 
the  spiritual.  The  local  reference  to  Jacob  on  the  woman's 
part,  the  well  whereof  he  drank,  his  children,  and  his  cattle,  was 
as  natural  as  that  to  this  mountain — her  religious  world.  This 
leads  to  further  explanation  of  the  water  of  eternal  life.  The  Lord's 
manner  was  something  no  gospel,  however  faithful,  could  repro- 
duce ;  we  can  only  know  that  it  must  have  added  to  His  simplest 
words  that  impression  of  power,  of  love,  of  holiness,  which  He 
left  whenever  and  wherever  His  fulness  of  grace  and  truth 
uttered  itself  Manner  and  tone  must  be  superadded  to  words 
in  themselves  such  as  never  man  spake,  and  the  home  thrust  at 
the  guilty  life  follows.  It  was  a  personal  attack,  and  the  woman 
would  parry  it  by  shifting  her  defence  to  the  question  of 
questions  between  Jew  and  Samaritan.  The  absence  of  false- 
hood, the  implied  confession,  leave  an  opening  for  the  Spirit  of 
truth  to  enter.  After  the  memorable  words  which  have  been 
a  foundation-stone  of  the  charter  of  the  faith  (John  iv.  24),  the 
controversial  decision,  the  judicial  affirmation,  that  salvation 
was  not  of  the  Samaritans,  but  of  the  Jews,  suggested  without 
mentioning  the  Messiah.  The  woman  follows  the  lead;  and 
the  first  open  declaration  of  Messiahship  immediately  follows  : 
"  I  am,  I  that  speak  unto  thee." 

The  Samaritan  conception  of  the  Messiah  was  that  of  a  pro- 
phet or  teacher.  When  Messiah  cometh,  He  will  announce  to 
us  all  things,  the  woman  said.  His  teaching  would  be  final  and 
absolute.  He  was  the  Hashab,  the  Converter,  and  Hathab,  the 
Guide,  now  El  Muhdy  in  the  Samaritan  vocabulary.     As  such 


THE   SAVIOUR   AND   THE   SAMARITANESS.  87 

the  Cutliite  accepted  Him.  Faith  with  the  Samaritans  was  a 
plant  of  quick  growth.  Before  the  Lord  had  departed  they  not 
only  believed  in  Him  as  the  Hashab,  but  arrived  at  the  certitude 
of  knowledge  that  He  was  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  The 
Messianic  seed  had  fallen  on  favourable  ground.  The  un- 
Jewish  friendliness  of  Master  and  disciple  may  have  more  than 
disarmed  prejudice,  and  converted  it  into  goodwill.  This  epi- 
sode must  have  been  a  sort  of  holiday,  a  time  of  refreshing, 
among  the  months  of  disappointed  labour. 

Just  as  Jesus  announced  Himself  the  Messiah,  the  disciples 
came  up  and  marvelled  at  His  breach  of  etiquette.  An  inci- 
dental touch  reveals  the  eye-witness.  "  She  left  the  water-pot" 
(John  iv.  28).  It  was  filled  but  forgotten,  for  other  water  had 
been  tasted.  The  rapid  faith  of  the  woman  bore  rapid  fruit.  As 
the  whitening  ears,  so  the  ripening  harvest  of  the  Samaritans 
spread  out  before  them.  Some,  perhaps,  were  actually  approach- 
ing the  well.  The  Messianic  evidence  which  convinced  the 
Samaritans  was  the  Messiah  Himself. 

If  the  Messianic  purification  of  the  Temple  be  regarded  as 
only  an  indirect  confession  of  Messiahship,  the  first  direct 
declaration  was  this.  It  seems  better  to  seek  the  fitness  in 
spiritual  causation  than  in  prudential  policy,  as  some  have  done. 
The  Samaritans  were  strangers  to  the  political  Messianic  hope, 
and  may  have  been  riper  on  this  ground  for  spiritual  develop- 
ment. But  the  success  which  attended  Christ's  personal  minis- 
try continued  to  attend  upon  that  of  His  servants  a  few  years 
later.  Tlie  memory  of  the  Messiah  kept  alive,  and  the  shame 
of  the  Cross  He  suffered  at  Jewish  hands  would  have  been  a 
lesser  barrier  to  Samaritan  belief. 

After  "the  two  days  of"  Samaritan  work  (John  iv.  43),  per- 
haps passing  through  Herod's  magnificent  Sebaste,  once 
Samaria,  now  Sebustieh,  where  remains  of  Archelaus'  temple  to 
Augustus  still  are  found,  Jesus  came  across  the  plain  of  "  El 
Buttauf "  into  Galilee.  His  fame  had  already  preceded  Him. 
The  eye-witnesses  of  His  works  at  Jerusalem  spread  it  abroad. 
Perhaps  there  was  some  touch  of  provincial  pride  in  welcoming 
the  distinguished  Galilean  Prophet  whom  "His  own  "  Judsea 
had  rejected.  Cana  is  the  scene  of  a  second  miracle.  Possibly 
the  son  of  Chuza,  Herod's  court  official,  is  the  restored  sufierer. 
The  Galilean  ministry,  which  follows,*  is  briefly  summed  up  in 
'    Vide  Edersheim  against  I'ischendorf,  &c. 


88  JESUS  CHRIST. 

Mark  i.  15  (Matt.  iv.  17  ;  Luke  iv.  15).  The  cry  of  the  Baptist 
is  resumed,  but  with  the  addition,  "  believe  in  the  gospel." 
Many  must  have  heard  the  former  appeal,  and  were  ready  for 
its  fulfilment.  Later,  if  not  sooner,  these,  or  some  of  them, 
recruited  the  ranks  of  the  Christian  brotherhood,  and  may  have 
been  some  amongst  the  five  hundred  and  more  who  beheld  the 
risen  Christ,  and  among  others  who  spread  northward  to 
Antioch  and  Damascus. 

The  next  scene  opens  at  Nazareth.  Jesus  has  returned  to  His 
own  Galileans.  Jesus  had  declared  Himself  in  the  Temple,  the 
one  centre  of  Jewish  worship.  He  now  declares  Himself  in  the 
other  centre,  the  Synagogue.  He  came  as  was  His  Sabbath 
wont.  He  is  invited  to  act  as  the  Sheliach  Tsibbtir.  Facing  the 
sanctuary,  with  His  back  to  the  people.  He  leads  their  devo- 
tions. After  introductory  prayers  the  Shema,  or  "Hear,"  is 
recited.  The  form  of  prayer  follows  (Tephillah),  i.e.,  the  Eigh- 
teen Eulogies,  or  Benedictions  (Shemoneh  Esreh).  Of  the 
present  nineteen,  some,  notably  the  three  first  and  three  last, 
are  of  great  antiquity.  As  these  have  left  a  marked,  but  as  yet 
unexplored,'  influence  upon  Christian  devotion,  and  as  we  may 
so  catch  some  echo  of  the  public  devotions  of  Christ  upon  this 
occasion,  the  first  and  second  only  may  be  quoted  '^  for  fear  of 
length,  and  a  fragment  of  the  eighteenth. 

1.  "Blessed  art  Thou  O  Lord  our  God,  and  the  God  of  our 
fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of 
Jacob,  the  God  great  and  powerful  and  terrible.  God  most  High, 
who  bestowest  Thy  benefits  graciously,  the  Possessor  of  the 
Universe,  who  rememberest  the  good  deeds  of  the  fathers  and 
sendest  a  redeemer  unto  their  sons'  sons  for  Thy  Name's  sake 
in  love.  Our  King,  our  Helper  and  Saviour  and  Shield,  blessed 
art  Thou,  O  Lord,  the  Shield  of  Abraham." 

2.  "  Thou  art  Mighty  for  ever,  O  Lord  ;  Thou  bringest  the 
dead  to  life.  Thou  art  mighty  to  save.  Thou  sustainest  the 
living  by  Thy  mercy.  Thou  bringest  the  dead  to  life  by  Thy 
great  compassion,  Thou  supportest  them  that  fall,  and  healest 

'  The  relation  of  Synag^ogue  prayers  to  early  liturgies  awaits  inquiry. 
The  development  of  early  liturgies  from  various  germs  is  a  subject  requiring 
thi^  attention  of  liturgiologists,  and  as  a  basis  the  examination  of  MSS. 
and  the  continuation  of  Canon  Swainson's  labours. 

*  Bishop  Lightfoot,  "Clemens  Romanus,"  ii.  461.  "  Dictionary  of 
Christian  Antiquities,"  i.  p.  1022  ;  and  Schiirer,  ii.  85. 


THE   NAZARENK  89 

the  sick,  and  loosest  them  that  are  in  bonds,  and  makest  good 
Thy  faithfulness  to  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust.  Who  is  like 
unto  Thee,  O  Lord  of  might  ?  and  who  can  be  compared  unto 
Thee,  O  King,  who  killest  and  makest  aHve,  and  causest  salva- 
tion to  shoot  forth  ?  And  Thou  art  faithful  to  bring  the  dead 
to  life,  Blessed  art  Thou,  O  Lord,  who  bringest  the  dead  to 
life  "  ; — and  the  last  clause  of  the  eighteenth  Benediction,  so 
suggestively  pathetic  to  a  Messiahless  people  — 

"  And  may  it  seem  good  in  Thy  sight  to  bless  Thy  people 
Israel  at  all  times  and  at  every  moment  with  Thy  peace.  Blessed 
art  Thou,  O  Lord,  who  blessest  Thy  people  Israel  with  peace." 

And  so  patient  are  the  words  of  Christian  adoption  and 
adaptation  that  we  are  not  surprised  to  find  traces  of  them  in 
the  long  liturgical  prayer  at  the  end  of  St.  Clement's  Epistle  to 
the  Romans,  and  possibly  in  the  Greek  Liturgy  of  St.  Mark, 
and  the  "  introductory  part  of  the  present  Greek  Office  is  a 
Christianized  epitome  of  the  first  eight."  ' 

After  the  seventeenth  followed  the  threefold  blessing  pro- 
nounced by  the  priests,  or  offered  as  a  prayer  in  their  absence. 
The  congregation  said  Amen.  They  had  prayed  standing. 
They  now  sit  to  hear  the  first  lesson,  from  the  Thorah,  on 
Sabbath  mornings  ;  and  the  second  from  the  Prophets,  the 
Haphtarah.  The  Methurgeman  stands  by  the  reader  to  trans- 
late the  Biblical  Hebrew  into  the  current  Aramaic.  The  sermon 
{Derashah)  follows.  This  was  the  form  which  the  teaching  in 
the  synagogues  so  often  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament  and 
in  Pliilo  took,  and  which  in  Apostolic  Missions  supplied  the 
basis  for  the  new  Evangel. 

Jesus  stood  to  read  the  lection  from  the  Prophets  :  Himself 
targumed  it  ;  and  sat  down  to  deliver  His  first  Nazareth  ser- 
mon. It  was  a  personal  claim  to  be  the  Hope  of  Israel.  But 
words  of  light  and  power  were  insufficient  to  change  obstinate 
prejudices.  The  claim  was  too  absolute  for  local  bias  and 
narrow  hearts,  unconvicted  of  sin  sickness. 

"Without  the  city  wall," 

as  later,  the  rebellious  answer  is  given.  The  site  of  precipita- 
tion is  still  seen  on  the  hill  above  the  Maronite  Church,  where 
they  would  have  pushed  Him  down  (Luke  iv.  29).  It  is  a  sharp 
descent  of  forty  feet. 

'  Freeman,  "  Divine  Service,"  i.  p.  64. 


CHAPTER  XI.i 

THE  DIVINE  GALILEAN. 

"  I  shut  my  door  against  my  Saviour,  but,  lo,  He  stands  before  me  day 
and  night  as  a  prisoner,  whom  His  own  mighty  love  hath  enchained  in  the 
house  of  His  beloved  child"  (An  Indian  poet  of  "The  New  Dispensa- 
tion "). 

Capernaum — The  unknown   feast  at  Jerusalem— Galilee  in  Christ's  time 
and  now — Galilean  labours. 

Nazareth  is  left  to  its  darkness.  Capernaum  becomes  the 
Christian  mission  centre.  The  Light  shines  upon  the  land  of 
Zabulon,  the  way  of  the  sea  becomes  the  way  of  the  King  (Matt. 
iv.  15).  What  better  centre  of  the  new  spiritual  industry  could 
be  found  than  busy  thriving  Capernaum  ?  Capernaum  was  a 
fishing,  an  agricultural,  and  a  mercantile  centre.  Fishermen, 
shipbuilders,  dyers,  weavers,  stonecutters,  jostled  with  the  cara- 
vans from  Egypt  and  the  sea-coast,  backwards  and  forwards  to 
Damascus  and  the  East. 

The  controversy  respecting  the  site  of  Capernaum  is  as  yet 
unclosed.  Tell  Hum  and  Khan  Minyeh  are  the  rival  claimants; 
but  as  they  are  within  two  and  a  half  miles  of  one  another 
neither  can  be  far  wrong.  Tell  Hum  is  supported  by  the  balance 
of  authority,  and  the  suggestion  that  Bethsaida  was  the  fishing 
suburb  of  Capernaum  seems  a  very  likely  one. 

The  return  visit  of  Jesus  to  an  unnamed  feast  at  Jerusalem 
is  recorded  with  much  detail  by  the  fourth  Evangelist  (John  v. 
1-47).  The  feast,  a  feast  merely  according  to  the  better  read- 
ing,' appears  to  have  been  that  of  Trumpets,^  the  new  moon  of 

»  Westcott  and  Hort,  Tregelles,  and  R.V.  omit  ■>),  but  Tischendorf  and 
Gebhardt  retain  it.  *  Westcott,  u.  v. 


THE   DIVINE  GALILEAN,  91 

September,  shortly  before  the  Day  of  Atonement.  The 
Messianic  crisis  centred  in  the  feast.  The  great  question  be- 
came more  urgent.  Upon  this  visit  Jesus  directly  formulates 
His  Messianic  claim,'  and  His  equality  with  God.  This  had 
been  implied  in  the  Temple  cleansing.  His  works  are  the  evi- 
dence which  accredits  Him.  As  so  often,  the  increasing  contra- 
diction of  sinners  called  out  the  clearer  statement  of  truth. 
Christ  on  His  defence  must  vindicate  His  authority.  His  own 
cause  and  work  He  identified  with  John's  ;  but  as  the  greater 
contains  the  less,  the  perfect  flower,  the  spring  bud.  His  works 
in  the  present  must  be  considered  in  the  light  of  the  immediate 
past  of  the  Johannine  work,  and  the  historic  testimony  of  their 
acknowledged  Scriptures.  Christ,  then,  appealed  to  history  like 
Christianity  ;  and  like  Christianity  to  the  inward  light  of  the 
human  heart.  Whoso  had  the  Divine  in  him  would  recognize  the 
Divine  in  Himself.  The  Messianic  conflict  had  not  now  begun, 
as  some  say,  but  it  had  deepened.  The  Jews,  i.e.,  the  Sanhedrist 
party,  are  standing  in  sharp  outlines  on  a  hostile  horizon.  The 
whole  controversy  took  occasion,  but  not  cause,  from  three 
several  festal  healings^this  at  Bethesda  of  the  impotent  man  ; 
the  second  of  the  man  born  bhnd  at  Jerusalem  ;  the  third,  and 
most  victorious,  and  unpardonable,  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus. 

A  decisive  step  had  been  taken.  No  disciples  appear  to 
have  attended  Him.  The  final  call  had  not  as  yet  separated 
them  for  His  work.  The  brief  ministry  in  Galilee  had  been  the 
first  effort.  The  great  Galilean  ministry  in  its  full  sweep  now 
begins,  the  final  call  to  the  fishers  of  men.  Consider  the  scene 
of  the  Divine  Galilean's  work. 

Galilee  in  the  time  of  Clirist  was  densely  peopled.  Josephus 
estimated  the  number  of  cities  and  villages,  the  smallest  of 
which  numbered  above  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants,  at  two 
hundred  and  four.  His  estimate  has  usually  been  rejected  as 
an  absurd  exaggeration.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  as 
military  governor  of  that  province  he  had  unusual  facilities  for 
gauging  its  resources;  that  he  raised  without  difficulty  an  army 
there  of  above  one  hundred  thousand  young  men  ;  and  that  a 
gross  misstatement  would  have  been  easily  detected.  We  are 
inclined,  therefore,  to  agree  with  Dr.  Selah  Merrill "  in  attach- 
ing more  credit  to  his  testimony.     In  any  case  Galilee  must 

'  Stanton,  p.  276,  hardly  does  justice  to  this. 

^  "  Galilee  in  the  Time  of  Christ"  (R.T.S.),  p.  63  foil,  and  p.  19. 


92  JESUS   CHRIST. 

have  presented  to  the  eye,  from  outlying  heights,  the  spectacle 
of  a  sea  of  habitations,  an  unbroken  sheet  of  towns,  "  a  land  of 
brooks  of  water,  of  fountains"  (Deut.  viii.  7),  having  in  its  two 
thousand  square  miles  a  possible  population  of  three  millions. 

The  fertility  and  beauty  of  the  country  at  the  time  are  well 
known.  It  was  the  "garden  of  God."  It  was  a  "watered 
garden,"  and  the  splendid  wealth  of  the  soil  was  turned  to  the 
best  account  by  the  industry  and  enterprise  of  a  vigorous  and 
intelligent  agricultural  population. 

"All  the  trees  and  fruits  of  Palestine  flourished  here  to 
perfection."  To  quote  again  one'  who  has  the  technical  know- 
ledge of  years  of  special  study  on  the  spot ;  "  forests,  in  many 
cases,  covered  its  mountains  and  hills,  while  its  uplands,  gentle 
slopes,  and  broader  valleys  were  rich  in  pastures,  meadows, 
cultivated  fields,  vineyards,  olive-groves,  and  fruit  trees  of  every 
kind.  Here,  in  this  garden  '  that  has  no  end,'  flourished  the 
vine,  the  olive,  and  the  fig  ;  the  oak,  the  hardy  walnut,  the 
terebinth,  and  the  hot-blooded  palm  ;  the  cedar,  cypress,  and 
balsam  ;  the  fir-tree,  the  pine,  and  sycamore  ;  the  bay-tree, 
the  myrtle,  the  almond,  the  pomegranate,  the  citron,  and  the 
beautiful  oleander.  These,  with  still  many  other  forest,  fruit, 
and  flowering  trees,  and  shrubs,  and  aromatic  plants,  together 
with  grains  and  fruits,  to  which  should  be  added  an  infinite 
profusion  of  flowers,  made  up  that  wonderful  variety  of  natural 
productions,"  which  smiled  in  undefiled  beauty  round  the  houses 
of  Jesus'  Galilean  work. 

The  products  of  the  province  were  fish,  wine,  wheat,  and  oil, 
flax,  all  '\x\  great  abundance.  The  port  of  Tyre  connected  the 
Galilean  market  with  consumers  from  the  far  West  to  the  far 
East.  The  lake  cities  were  centres  of  the  fishing  industry  ; 
Tarichfea  seems  to  have  been  specially  famous  for  its  fish 
factories,  and  had  about  forty  thousand  inhabitants. 

Nor  was  art  very  far  behind  Nature.  Architecture  was  not  an 
indigenous  Jewish  product.  The  Jews  were  not  great  builders. 
But  modern  critical  research  and  exploration  have  shown  how 
widely  Hellenizing  influences  had  spread,  and  many  magnificent 
buildings,  temples,  theatres,  palaces,  chiefly  under  the  inspira- 
tion of  Herodian  taste,  covered  the  land  with  Grseco-Roman 
monuments.  Even  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem  showed  abundant 
traces  of  the  influence  of  the  Grecian  style  ;  just  as  in  Solomon's 
•  Dr.  S.  Merrill. 


THK   DIVINK   GALILKAX,  93 

time  Memphis,  and  possibly  Nineveh,  supplied  suggestions,'  and 
Tyre,  masons  and  skilled  artificers.  Synagogues,  too,  were  often 
handsome  edifices,  with  ornate  mouldings.  "  But  the  Jewish 
ordinary  architecture  was,  on  the  whole,"  probably  "much  what 
is  now  the  natural  style  of  the  country,"  and  "  the  buildings 
were  neither  large  nor  solidly  constructed."  ^ 

The  Sea  of  Galilee  has  little  in  common  to-day  with  the 
bright,  busy  populous  lake  of  Christ's  time.  The  purple  blush 
of  the  oleander  still  fringes  its  shore.  The  green  or  brown 
hills  still  "  stand  about "  it.  The  turf  is  still  starred  with 
myriad  wild  flowers  varied  and  lustrous.  The  waves  still  beat 
their  monotonous  music  upon  the  white  shingle.  Hermon's 
snowy  dome  still  shines  afar.  But  all  else  is  changed.  Where 
hundreds  of  sail  winged  their  whiteness  over  the  sparkling 
water,  where  Herod,  Josephus,  or  Titus  could  easily  collect 
fleets  of  from  three  hundred  to  five  hundred  vessels,  where 
numbers  of  fisher-folks  plied  their  nightly  craft  to  furnish  the 
numerous  markets  of  a  densely-crowded  neighbourhood,  where 
the  magnificent  Tiberias,  lately  built  by  Herod  the  Great,  and 
named  after  the  Roman  Emperor,  lined  the  lake-shore  for  nearly 
three  miles  with  handsome  public  buildings,  temples,  the  palace 
of  the  Tetrarch,  and  fashionable  residences,  "  all  built  in  the 
sumptuous  style  of  Grceco-Roman  art,  with  their  spacious  courts, 
surrounded  by  marble  columns,  adorned  with  elaborately  carved 
designs,  the  whole  embosomed  in  palm  groves,  and  gay  with 
gardens  of  tropical  luxuriance  ;"3  vvhere  the  Plain  of  Gennesareth 
spread  out  its  fruit  orchards  and  gardens  ;  now  is  the  plain  all 
but  uncultivated,  now  is  a  squalid  town,  now  are  some  rows  of 
columns  lately  discovered  by  Mr.  Schumacher,  representing 
Tiberias,  now  are  half-a-dozen  miserable  villages,  the  black 
tents  and  the  cattle  of  the  Bedouin  on  the  hillsides,  a  few 
small  dilapidated  fishing-boats  resting  on  the  banks,  or  moving 
languidly  over  the  waters,  the  only  signs  of  human  life.'* 

"  On  the  shores  of  this  lake  might  be  seen  temple  after  temple 
rearing  their  vast  colonnades  of  graceful  columns,  their  courts 
ornamented  with  faultlessly  carved  statues  to  the  deities  of  a 

•  Cf.  C.  R.  Conder,  "  Syrian  Stone  Lore,"  p.  122. 

»  C.  R.  Conder  in  "Survey,"  iii.  p.  441  f.  3  L.  Olipbant. 

4  S.  Manning's,  "Those  Holy  Fields,"  pp.  196,  202;  Selah  Merrill, 
"East  of  the  Jordan,"  p.  461  ;  L.  Oliphant,  "Sea  of  Galilee,"  English 
Illustrated,  December,  1887. 


94  JESUS      CHRIST. 

heathen  cult.  Here  were  the  palaces  of  the  Roman  high  func- 
tionaries, the  tastefully  decorated  villas  of  rich  citizens,  with 
semi-tropical  gardens  irrigated  by  the  copious  streams  which 
have  their  sources  in  the  Plain  of  Gennesareth  and  the  neigh- 
bouring hills.  Here  were  broad  avenues  and  populous  thorough- 
fares, thronged  with  the  motley  concourse  which  so  much  wealth 
and  magnificence  had  attracted — rich  merchants  from  Antioch, 
then  the  most  gorgeous  city  of  the  East,  and  from  the  Greek 
islands,  traders  and  visitors  from  Damascus,  Palmyra,  and  the 
rich  cities  of  the  Decapolis  ;  caravans  from  Egypt  and  Persia, 
Jewish  Rabbis  jostling  priests  of  the  worship  of  the  Sun,  and 
Roman  soldiers  swaggering  across  the  market-places,  where  the 
peasantry  were  exposing  the  produce  of  their  fields  and  gardens 
for  sale  ! " ' 

In  such  a  hive  of  half-Hellenized  civilization.  Oriental  com- 
mercial industries,  and  mixed  cultures  and  faiths,  did  the  little 
body  of  Christ's  workers  set  to  leaven  the  whole  mass.  The 
nearest  modern  parallels  are  still  to  be  found  in  the  East  rather 
than  the  West.  In  Calcutta,  where  the  Christian  missionary's 
first  feeling  "is  the  utter  helplessness  of  his  outlook  in  the  face 
of  a  joyous,  idle,  universal,  self-satisfied,  non-Christian  life,  the 
streets  crowded,  the  students  happy  and  eager,  the  idolatrous 
processions  beautiful  as  a  dream,  the  burning  sun,  the  beautiful 
flower- trees,  the  birds  singing,  the  philosophers  lightly  and 
airily  discussing  the  religious  life  of  the  past  and  of  the  future, 
the  missionary  thought  of  either  as  a  needless  bore,  or  a  pleasant 
means  of  obtaining  an  hour  or  two's  logical  word-play,""  and 
overshadowing  all  the  majestic  a^gis  of  a  foreign  government 
and  a  distant  sovereign,  just  as  the  Roman  official  exercised 
dominion  over  the  concourse  of  mixed  multitudes.  Or  again 
in  Bombay,  the  Indian  Tyre,  which,  like  Calcutta,  delights  to 
call  itself  "  the  hall  of  all  the  nations,"  and  where  all  varieties 
of  national  type  and  national  dress  throng  the  strfeets,  and  of 
the  Christians,  European  or  native,  the  question  asks  itself, 
"  What  are  they  among  so  many  ? " 

Capernaum  was  a  suitable  base  as  the  home  of  growing  faith 
(Luke  iv.  31).  Here  lived  the  court  officer  and  his  son.  Here, 
or  close  by,  dwelt  the  sons  of  John  and  the  sons  of  Zebedee. 

'  L.  Oliphant,  "  Haifa,"  p.  219. 

a  MS.  letter  from  the  late  Rev.  P.  S.  Smith  of  the  Oxford  Mission  to 
Calcutta. 


THE    DIVINE   GALILEAN,  95 

"  Here  He  would  on  the  Sabbath  days  preach  in  that  synagogue, 
of  which  the  good  centurion  was  the  builder,  and  Jairus  the  chief 
ruler."'  Here  begins  a  new  departure  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  He 
had  been  a  lonely  missionary  preacher.  He  had  been  scattering 
the  seed.  He  now  begins  to  gather  in.  The  Organizer  of  the 
Church  appears  for  the  first  time.  Simon  and  Andrew,  James 
and  John,  form  the  first  community  of  the  new  kingdom,  the  first 
spiritually  specialized  to  definite  office.  They  are  no  longer  dis- 
ciples. They  are  called  to  the  personal  fellowship  of  Messianic 
work  and  undivided  spiritual  industry.  On  the  following  Sab- 
bath they  witness  His  words  and  works  of  power — the  unclean 
spirit  cast  out,  the  mother-in-law  of  Simon  restored  by  the  touch 
of  His  hand.  The  home  Simon  had  given  up  is  already  blessed, 
and  the  sick  in  the  neighbourhood, 

"At  even,  when  the  sun  was  set," 

and  the  Sabbath  over,  were  graced  with  the  healing  touch,  one 
by  one. 

The  Galilean  labours  which  follow,  briefly  sketched  in  the 
Synoptists,  produced  abundant  fruit.  Two  points  specially 
marked  them  (Luke  v.  17  ;  vi.  7).  The  Rabbinical  party,  deputed 
from,  or  instigated  by,  the  Jerusalem  faction,  were  in  ceaseless 
and  open  opposition.  The  Messianic  party  was  increasing  in 
quantity  and  quality.  Another  onward  step  in ''organization" 
takes  place  when  Jesus,  after  the  long  night-prayer,  formally 
selects  the  Twelve  (Luke  vi.  12). 

•  Edersheim,  i.  457. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  DIVINE  APOSTLE.      THE  DIVINE  MORALIST. 

"And  these  tilings  He  taught,  not  as  contrary  to  the  Law,  but  as  fulfilling 
the  Law,  and  rooting  within  us  the  means  whereby  the  Law  maketh 
righteous''  (iKEN.tus  iv.  xiii.  i,  translated  by  Keble). 

"What  you  do  not  want  done  to  yourself,  do  not  do  to  others  (Con- 
fucius' "Golden  Rule''). 

The  selection  of  the  Twelve — Organization  of  the  Divine  society — Organi. 
zation  of  the  life — Code  of  the  New  Kingdom  in  its  past,  present,  and 
future  revelations. 

The  site  of  the  selection  of  the  Twelve  and  the  delivery  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  was  evidently  well  known  in  the  early 
Church.  It  is  termed  by  the  Synoptists  "  the  mountain"  simply, 
perhaps  as  being  so  well  known  lo  Christians  as  a  habitual 
resort  of  Christ  and  His  disciples,  and  possibly,  in  after-time,  as 
to  require  no  specifying;  or  there  may  have  been  no  name  to 
this  one  of  the  many  heights  in  the  neighbourhood.  Tradition 
regards  the  Horns  of  Hattin  (Kurun  Hattin)  as  the  place,  and 
many  moderns  are  disposed  to  assent  to  it. 

The  appointment  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  was  an  example  of 
supernatural  rather  than  natural  selection.  It  was  a  spiritual 
differentiation  of  the  fittest  of  the  disciples  according  to  Divine, 
not  human  valuation.  The  chosen  of  the  chosen  were  summoned 
to  step  into  the  inner  circle  which  should  share  the  Lord's  inti- 
macy, and  constitute  the  governing  body  of  the  Church.  The 
inclusion  of  Judas  is  one  of  the  unsealed  mysteries  of  God's  pre- 
destination. It  was  only  after  a  night  of  prayer  that  Jesus  de- 
cided upon  His  final  choice.  An  unseen  Hand  pointed  them 
out.     They  did  not  choose  Him  ;  He  chose  them.     How  shall 


THE   DIVINE    APOSTLE.  97 

they  preach  except  they  be  sent  ?  He  was  the  Apostle  of  the 
Father,  the  authorized  and  accredited  Messenger  ;  they  were  the 
Apostle's  Apostles  {Malac/ii»i).  Their  authority  was  derivative, 
as  their  teaching  was  in  His  Name.  Tlieir  present  mission  and 
commission  was  preliminary  and  local.  Their  promotion  to 
world-wide  jurisdiction  was  at  present  unrevealed,  and,  as  the 
case  of  the  traitor  proves,  conditioned  by  their  faithfulness  in 
service. 

Of  these  twelve,  Judas,  the  man  of  Kerioth,  alone  was  of 
Judean  origin  ;  the  others  were  Galileans.  The  Galilean 
character  formed  the  best  ethical  basis  for  the  elevating  power 
of  the  new  kingdom.  The  Galileans  were  men  of  loyal  and 
patriotic  spirit,intelligent,  active,  laborious.  They  were  fashioned 
of  the  stolid  stuff  and  high  spirit  which  make  good  soldiers  and 
merchants,  from  the  days  when  Zebulon  and  Napthali  jeoparded 
their  lives  unto  the  death  in  the  high  places  of  the  field  (Judg. 
v.  1 8),  to  the  days  when  the  fighting  men  of  Japha  beat  back 
the  Roman  soldiers  till  twelve  thousand  of  the  former  fell.  They 
were  free  children  of  nature,  filled  with  the  sunny  breath  of 
their  own  highlands.  Their  reality,  their  manliness,  their 
perfervidutn  i)igenium,  their  zeal  for  the  law  apart  from  tradi- 
tion, stood  in  sharp  contrast  to  the  artificially  religious  and  self- 
seeking  political  Rabbis,  who  would — 

"  Make  of  God  their  tame  confederate. 
Purveyor  to  their  appetites."  ' 

These  Twelve  were  in  an  eminent  degree  meant  to  be  living 
gospels — personal  Christ-forces,  Christ-organs.  The  trans- 
mission of  the  faith  was  dependent,  in  the  first  instance,  upon 
living  depositaries,  personal  eye-  and  ear-witnesses.  The  faith 
and  the  life  are  alike  one.  Christ  alone  is  the  source  of  either. 
Human  fnedia  are  strictly  media  between  Him  and  His.  Life 
and  faith  were  meant  to  co-exist,  hence  living  agents  propagated 
the  Divine  life  and  the  Divine  faith  before  any  documentary 
embodiment  of  either.  The  Church  existed  before  the  Bible. 
What  God  hath  joined  together  let  not  man  put  asunder. 

The  number  Twelve  was  significant.  It  indicated  that  under 
the  Messianic  King  they  would  rule  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel. 
The  organization  of  the  official  element  in  the  Church  to  all  time 

'  R.  Browning,  "  Pippa  Passes." 

8 


98  JESUS   CHRIST. 

lay  in  this  germ.  In  Christ  is  the  fulness  of  all  functions — ruling 
evangelizing,  pastoral,  prophetic.  Church  officers  claim  but 
delegated  authority.  The  dependence  of  the  Apostles  upon 
Christ  was  absolute,  at  first  more  "  outward  and  unconscious,"  ' 
afterwards  more  inward,  self-intelligible.  At  first  they  were 
servants,  they  became  friends  ;  they  never  ceased  to  be  children. 
The  manifestation  of  His  own  life  and  character  indirectly,  as 
well  as  directly,  was  the  leading  factor  in  their  moral,  spiritual 
training.  Only  after  He  left  them  visibly  did  He  become  an 
inward  formative  force.  His  personal  influence  was  at  first 
outward — an  example,  a  voice,  a  manner,  a  temper,  a  look,  a 
conversation.  Later  on  these  passed  into  the  memory  and 
very  life  as  an  abiding  power.  From  without  He  passed  within, 
to  interpenetrate,  to  transform,  to  spiritualize. 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  was  the  natural  and  immediate 
sequel  to  the  nomination  of  the  officers  of  the  kingdom.  It 
was  the  official  manifesto  of  the  moral  code  of  the  kingdom. 
It  was  addressed,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  new  officers  ;  in  the 
second,  to  all  the  children  and  children's  children  of  the  king- 
dom. It  was,  above  all,  a  definition  of  character  ;  a  statement 
of  principles,  rather  than  a  promulgation  of  rules.  It  had  re- 
lations to  the  past,  to  the  present,  to  the  future.  To  the  past  ; 
for  He,  the  Lawgiver,  came  to  fulfil  all  righteousness,  to  conserve 
and  to  reinforce  all  the  moral  force,  and  colour,  and  authority  of 
the  old  covenant  ;  to  give  finality  to  what  was  partial  and  incom- 
plete ;  to  develop  incipient  morals  to  the  full  length,  and  breadth, 
and  depth,  and  height  of  a  perfect  organism.  To  the  past  ; 
for  all  the  moral  thinkings  of  all  previous  non-Jewish  moral 
teachers  were  here  recognized,  revised,  and  re-issued.  The 
Divine  Law,  as  approached  in  varying  degrees  in  divers  ethical 
schools  —  Egyptian,  Babylonian,  Indian,  Persian,  Greek, 
Roman^is  here,  so  far  as  true,  and  therefore  authentically 
Divine,  ratified  and  confirmed.  The  moral  system  of  Bud- 
dhism, for  instance,  so  far  as  its  theory  goes,  occupies  the 
highest  place  among  non-Christian  religions  The  five  com- 
mandments are  as  follows  ;  "  Not  to  kill  (anything  that  has 
life)  :  not  to  steal  :  not  to  lie  :  not  to  drink  what  can  intoxicate  : 
not  to  commit  adultery."  *    And  the  Buddhist  commandments, 

'  Neander,  p.  126. 

==  Professor  Kellogg,  ' '  The  Light  of  Asia  and  the  Light  of  the  World, 
p.  270  following. 


THE   DIVINE   MORALIST.  ^991 

fust  as  the  Mosaic  interpreted  by  prophet  and  psalmist  in 
distant  approximation  to  Christ,  reached  beyond  the  letter 
to  the  disposition  of  the  heart.  Thus  we  read  that  the 
Buddha,  on  one  occasion,  being  asked  to  declare  ''the  highest 
blessing,"  answered  in  words  such  as  the  following  : — 

"  Waiting  on  father  and  mother,  protecting  child  and  wife, 
and  a  quiet  calling,  this  is  the  highest  blessing.  '  Giving  alms, 
living  religiously,  protecting  relatives,  blameless  deeds,  this  is 
the  highest  blessing,'  "  &c. 

But  it  must  be  remembered  parenthetically,  to  avoid  mis- 
understanding, that  these  higher  Buddhist  flights  must  be  taken 
in  connection  witii  their  whole  code,  which  has  no  conception 
of  a  personal  God,  no  conception  of  a  moral  obligation,  or 
authoritativeness,  which  is  "  law  "  only  by  a  transference  of  ideas 
without  a  lawgiver.  If  the  Mosaic  law  could  not  give  life, 
much  less  could  the  highest  non-Jewish,  such  as  the  Buddhist.' 
And  the  moral  weakness  of  Buddhism  is  too  notorious  and 
patent  to  need  illustration. 

As  non-Jewish  moral  teachings  so  above  all  the  Jewish  law 
given  by  Moses,  glorified  in  countless  Psalms,  vindicated  and 
enforced  by  prophets  and  men  of  God,  striven  after  by  the 
righteous  remnant  in  every  generation,  was  reaffirmed  and 
certified.  Its  inviolability,  its  absolute  validity,  its  catholicity 
reasserted  and  authenticated,  not  word  by  word,  and  detail  by 
detail,  but  as  a  whole  and  by  typical  examples. 

But  there  was  more  than  reaffirmation  of  the  past  righteous- 
ness. There  was  expansion,  creative  development,  progress 
inward  and  spiritual.  "  In  five  cardinal  points  of  the  moral 
code  "  *  the  new  righteousness  is  contrasted  with  the  old  :  in 
the  law  of  murder,  the  law  of  oaths,  the  law  of  adultery,  the  law 
of  retaliation,  the  law  of  charity.  The  public  placard  of  the 
Decalogue  is  taken  down  and  rewritten  upon  the  heart.  The 
sources  of  good  and  evil,  the  inward  springs  of  thought  and 
life,  are  dealt  with  at  their  centre  and  focus.  Thought  and  look 
and  gesture  are  traversed  and  scrutinized. 

If  the  Law  of  Christ  had  simply  been  a  more  stringent  pro- 
vision than  the  Mosaic,  covering  a  wider  field,  and  penetrating 

'  Professor  Kellogg,  p.  280  following,  and  the  express  declarations  of 
such  experienced  and  credible  eye-witnesses  of  Buddhism,  as  Bishops 
Schereschewsky  and  Copleston,  or  Dr.  Edkins. 

'■'  Rev.  S.  Cox,  D.D.,  "  Expository  Essays  and  Discourses,"  p.  12. 


lOO  JESUS   CHRIST. 

into  deeper  chambers — where  had  been  the  possibility  of  ful' 
filling  commands  which  in  their  e'arlier  form  were  beyond 
attainment?  With  the  new  law  Christ,  but  not  till  after  His 
Resurrection,  liberated  a  new  power.  The  Christian's  life  is  a 
reproduction  of  Christ's  life.  His  energy  is  transformed  and 
conveyed  into  the  Christian.  Communion  with  Him  is  a 
scientific  necessity  of  spiritual  obedience.  Faith  is  the  line 
along  which  the  currents  of  spiritual  energy  pass  ;  and  Sacra- 
ments are  the  means  of  His  communications  of  life. 

With  regard  to  the  present,  its  synchronal  position,  the  whole 
recjuired  to  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of  the  Life  of  the  Law- 
giver. He  spake  by  authority  and  He  exemplified  by  authority. 
The  Blessed  above  blessed  ones  revealed  and  exhibited  every 
beatitude.  With  Him  the  law  was  not  external,  it  was  not 
imposed  from  without ;  it  was  the  expression  of  His  own  inner 
nature.     The  Law  Royal  was  a  reflex  of  the  Royal  Mind. 

In  its  positive  aspects  and  in  its  negative  the  Royal  life  was 
the  best  commentary  on  the  Royal  Law.  He  was  Himself  the 
exponent.  His  example  expressed  it  in  the  concrete.  When- 
ever the  disciples  had  difficulties  about  the  application  of 
principle  to  different  details,  they  had  the  ever-speaking  like- 
ness of  the  Law  obeying  Himself.  The  Royal  Law  was  to 
Him  a  perfect  law  of  liberty,  and  became  so  to  all  who  took 
the  yoke  freely  upon  them  of  Him,  "  cui  servire  libertas." 

In  this  the  most  effective  of  all  ways,  that  of  personal 
influence,  the  apostles  were  trained  to  deal  with  moral  problems- 
The  gospel  in  contact  with  the  degraded  morals  of  corrupt 
society  had,  as  it  often  has  now,  to  create  moral  demands  before 
supplying  them.  The  gospel  had  to  meet  most  perplexing 
problems  in  applying  the  sweetness  and  light  of  moral  truth  to 
the  various  complications  of  artificial,  often  highly  civilized,  but 
rotten  society.  One  of  the  sayings  of  the  Lord,  unrecorded  in 
the  Gospels,  capable  of  wide  application,  "it  is  more  blessed  to 
give  than  to  receive,"  is  an  instance  of  many  others  which  in  His 
own  life-time,  and  in  the  life-time  of  His  ear-witnesses,  became 
fruitful  principles  of  action,  and  useful  guides  of  conduct. 

Such  difficult  questions  as  those  of  caste  and  polygamy  which 
confront  the  Christian  missionary  of  to-day  were  present  to  the 
after-experience  of  the  apostles  and  disciples.  Those  who  had 
occupied  the  pre-eminent  place  of  being  eye-witnesses  of  the 
Word  of  Life  had  two  first  principles  which  they  could  apply. 


THE  DIVINE   MORALIST.  lOI 

What  did  the  Lord  say  ?  What  did  the  Lord  do  ?  Simple, 
untutored  minds,  without  other  culture  than  that  of  the  Lord's 
life  and  words  enjjraven  on  a  memory  quick  with  the  strong 
pulse  of  love,  and  fortified  by  the  re-creative  indux  of  the  Spirit, 
were  thus  enabled  to  cope  with  the  mental  and  moral  obstacles 
to  belief,  and  the  mental  and  moral  difficulties  of  planting,  pre- 
serving, and  perpetuating  the  holy  stock  of  the  faith  in  noisome, 
unclean  social  soils,  and  hotbeds  of  civilized  vice,  in  nurseries  of 
deeply  rooted,  widely  ramified  evil,  strong  in  possession,  in  inte- 
rest, in  degenerate  undisturbed  heredity. 

And  in  its  immediate  applications,  the  Law  had  negative  re- 
lations. It  was  polemical.  It  was  the  unqualified  contradic- 
tion of  the  fashionable  authorized  moral  teaching  and  living. 
The  best  Rabbinical  ethics  may  be  found  in  the  small 
Talmudical  Tractate  Pirke  Aboth  ; '  and  at  every  point  of  con- 
tact pale  in  comparison.  The  moral  teaching  of  the  day, 
allowing  for  exceptions,  resolved  itself  into  personal  and 
national  selfishness.  Righteousness  was  an  acquisition,  not  a 
gift,  purchasable  by  individual  merit.  Individual  merit  was 
consciously  created,  valued,  and  asserted.  "  My  humility  is  my 
greatness,  and  my  greatness,  my  humility,"  said  Rabbi  Hillel. 
The  famous  Rabbi  Simeon  ben  Jochai  would  say,  "  I  have  seen 
the  children  of  the  world  to  come,  and  they  are  few.  If  there 
are  three.  I  and  my  son  are  of  their  number  ;  if  they  are 
two,  I  and  my  son  are  they." 

And  not  only  had  the  current  inoral  teaching  to  be  negatived, 
or  transformed,  where  capable  of  transformation,  ethics  had  to 
be  raised  to  a  new  position.  An  externalism  like  that  of 
Brahminism  had  to  be  dethroned.  Rabbinism  had  debased 
the  whole  theocratic  system.  Morals  were  enslaved.  Action 
was  chained  and  bound  in  a  systematized  machinery  of  fetters. 
The  polemic  of  Christ  against  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees 
was  the  absolutely  necessary  condition  of  creating  a  healthy 
moral  standard.  Between  Christian  law  and  Rabbinical  there 
was  no  reconciliation.  It  was  a  life-and-death  question.  One 
or  the  other  must  perish.  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  was  the 
epoch  of  the  new  birth  of  moral  life.  It  was  as  life  from  the 
dead. 

One  or  two  examples  of  the  legalism  and  formalism  from  which 
men  were  delivered  will  suffice.  No  less  than  twelve  treatises 
•  See  Dr.  Tavlor's  convenient  edition  and  notes. 


102  JESUS  CHRIST. 

of  the  Mishna,  filling  the  whole  of  the  last  part,  deal  with 
ordinances  relatin;j  to  cleanness  and  uncleanness,  such  as  the 
defilement  of  hollow  earthen  vessels,  of  metal  vessels  of  which 
"the  mouth  and  the  hollow  are  capable  of  defilement.  If  they 
are  broken  they  are  clean  ;  if  vessels  are  again  made  out  of 
them  they  are  in  their  former  uncleanness."  The  very  three 
mementoes,  the  Tsitsith,  the  tassels  or  fringes  which  every 
Israelite  wore  at  the  four  corners  of  his  upper  garment ; 
the  Mesusa,  or  box  fixed  to  the  doors,  containing  Deut.  vi.  9, 
and  xi.  20  ;  and  the  Tephillin,  or  prayer-straps,  which  every 
male  Israelite  put  on  at  morning  prayer,  except  on  Sabbaths  and 
holy  days,  probably  of  scriptural  origin,  and  of  great  value 
rightly  used,  were  debased  to  a  thousand  superstitious  prescrip- 
tions about  knots  and  threads  and  the  like,  and  were  often 
treated  as  charms.' 

In  regard  to  the  future  the  permanent  force  and  value  of  the 
Sermon  is  witnessed  by  its  own  perennial  freshness  and  vitality. 
All  moral  progress  is  a  pursuit  of  these  ideals.  The  ideal 
Christian,  the  ideal  righteousness  of  the  individual,  the  society, 
the  Church  is  here  outlined.  Christ  believed  in  Himself,  in 
His  work.  He  knew  His  community  would  last.  He  knew 
His  work  would  survive  His  earthly  life.  He  knew  its  con- 
tinuity to  the  ages  of  ages.  His  action  and  His  words  were 
equally  prophetic,  equally  creative,  equally  indestructible.  He 
could  trust  in  His  cause,  and  in  human  nature.  Knowing 
humanity  as  He  did,  with  the  perfect  insight  of  intuition,  and 
the  experience  of  active  mixture  with  all  classes,  and  in  a 
country  where  men  of  all  nations  met,  knowing  its  worst  and 
its  best,  knowing  its  worst  to  Himself  to  the  end,  He  was 
never  a  pessimist  or  a  cynic.  He  was  the  incarnation  of  faith 
and  hope  in  human  nature,  as  well  as  of  faith  and  hope  in  God. 
He  was  the  lover  of  humanity,  whose  delight  was  to  be  with 
the  sons  of  men,  as  well  as  the  destroyer  of  all  the  works  of 
the  devil,  and  the  supreme  hater  of  evil. 

The  moral  teaching  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  the 
charter  of  moral  life  to  all  Christians.  But  its  influence  has 
gone  far  into  non-Christian  regions.  It  leaves  its  impress 
upon  the  characters  of  those  who  have  lost  faith  in  Christian 
doctrine,  and  upon  non-Christian  ethical  systems  like  Comtism. 
It  attracts  with  a  wonder  of  joy  those  who  have  not  learned 
'  Vide  Schiirer,  ii.  2,  \  28. 


THE    DIVINE    MORALISl-.  I03 

to  believe  in  Christian  doctrine,  and  leads  the  more  honest  and 
enlightened  amon<?  them  on  to  the  full  acceptance  of  the 
doctrine  without  which  it  has  but  permissive  value  and  force. 
Many  educated  Hindus  are  now  adopting  some  form  of 
Theism.  The  Brahmo  Samaj  movement  in  Calcutta  is  one  of 
the  most  striking  instances.  But  it  is  a  Theism  which  is  learned 
from  Christianity,  and  with  or  without  acknowledgment  borrows 
Christian  moral  ideas  without  the  sanction  upon  which  they 
rest.  Some  have  found  this  out,  and  have  been  consistent 
enough  to  embrace  the  creed  which  underlies  the  morality. 
The  Rev.  Nehemiah  Goreh,  the  eminent  missionary,  is  a 
notable  example,  and  the  promise  of  more.  He  affirms,  "  I 
know,  and  am  as  sure  as  of  my  own  existence,  that  I  learnt 
Theism  from  Christianity,  and,  I  also  know,  that  Christianity 
alone  does  teach  it,  and  that  from  Christianity  alone  it  can  be 
learnt." ' 

In  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  the  Christ  formulated  for  all 
time  the  principles  of  the  Christian  character.  His  faith  was 
a  school  of  character.  He  Himself  was  a  trainer  of  special 
character.  Character  was  to  be  the  human  propagating  power 
of  His  truth.  His  immediate  teaching  was  a  technical  edu- 
cation in  spirituality.  All  the  graces  and  gifts  of  Christian 
character  were  perfectly  embodied  in  Him,  and  transcribed, 
reproduced  in  varying  approximations  by  those  on  whom  He 
stamped  the  ineffable  beauty  of  His  image,  and  the  lustrous 
light  of  His  native  force.  His  spiritual  children  were  to  be  His 
speaking  likenesses. 

His  character,  hke  His  truth,  was  progressively  revealed. 
Cross  lights  beat  upon  it  ;  counter  currents,  fierce  oppositions, 
fought  against  it  ;  but  as  the  darkness  increased  it  shone  brighter 
and  brighter,  as  hatred  waxed  and  wove  fresh  combinations, 
newer  lights  and  fuller  beauties  flashed  forth  from  the  furnace. 
The  complete  ascendency  of  His  character,  the  full  apprecia- 
tion of  it,  the  true  measure  of  it  were  only  won  by  the  Resur- 
rection. That  was  the  beginning  of  the  final  victory  of 
character  which  was  consummated  at  Pentecost.  From  that 
moment  the  victory  of  the  Christ,  and  Christ-derived  character 
over  all  contradictory  ideals,  was  assured.  Human  life  in  all  its 
moral  relations  has  never  lost,  and  can  never  lose,  that  ideal. 

*  "Occasional  Papers  of  the  O.Kford  Mission  to  Calcutta,''  quoted  by 
Rev.  E.  F.  T.-^ylor,  on  Indian  Theisni,  Mission  Life,  Feb.,  T883. 


I04  JESUS   CHRIST. 

It  is  of  eternal  validity,  of  universal  worth  and  potency,  and 
is  an  everlasting  spring  and  fountain-head  of  like  characters,  in 
all  the  provinces  of  human  life,  in  all  the  possible  develop- 
ments of  moral  loveliness  and  strength  and  truth.  While  He 
lived  on  earth  His  eye  was  always  upon  His  pupils.  In  their 
missionary  works  and  tentative  transient  evangelizations,  they 
could  always  refer  to  Him.  He  superintended,  He  dictated. 
This  revealed  His  public  character  under  various  difficulties  and 
emergencies,  and  prepared  them  to  deal  with  the  like  when  He 
was  gone. 

Tne  Sermon  on  the  Mount  was  the  official  manifesto  of  in- 
carnate moral  truth  and  life.  Viewed  in  connection  with  His 
whole  life-work,  it  was  the  beginning  of  the  transfiguration  of 
character,  of  the  transformation  of  morals  ;  the  beginning  not 
the  end.  The  end  was  sacrifice,  and  that  could  only  be  under- 
stood after  He  who  pleased  not  Himself  had  officially  an- 
nounced : 

"it  is  finished." 

The  Ten  Beatitudes  are  the  ten  words  of  the  new  law 
corresponding  to  the  ten  of  the  old.  They  are  the  prototypal 
moral  ideas  of  the  gospel.  They  are  marks  of  the  ideal 
Christian  ;  one  and  all  perfectly  manifest  in  the  Divine  Man. 
The  last  two  Beatitudes  were  specially  suggestive  of  suffering, 
and  a  prophecy  of  the  progressive  victoriousness  of  suffering. 
The  kingdom  was  one  built  upon  triumphant  pain.  "  In  this 
world  all  good,  even  the  fairest  and  noblest — as  love — rests  upon 
a  '  dark  ground,'  which  it  has  to  consume  with  pain  and  con- 
vert into  pure  spirit." '  This  truth  was  one  which  had  re- 
peatedly to  be  pressed  upon  the  disciples.  For  current  Jewish 
teaching  regarded  suffering  as  the  reward  of  sin,  and  even  the 
pure  pre-Christian  scriptural  sufferers  had  fallen  back  baffled 
before  the  dark  mystery.  And  in  their  present  stage  of 
Alessianic  experience  the  disciples  had  but  tasted  the  cup,  and 
were  sheltered  by  an  overpowering  strength  and  sympathy. 

The  organization  of  the  Christian  body,  and  the  organization 
of  the  Christian  life,  were  correlative.  The  words  of  the  Sermon 
presupposed  in  the  future  an  organized  community,  a  recog- 
nizable brotherhood.     The  exact  form  of  the  body  wherein  the 

'  Rothe,  quoted  by  Professor  Martineau. 


THK    DIVINE    MORALIST.  I05 

spirit  should  be  ensouled  is  as  yet  undefined.  It  was  not  the 
method  of  Christ  to  seal  systems  upon  living  forces  before  the 
spirit  within  needed  some  embodiment,  visible,  social.  The 
Kingdom  of  God  centred  in  the  King  while  He  lived  and 
worked  on  the  earthly  scene.  He  would  define  in  word  and 
create  in  practice  the  character  and  life  which  should  stamp  the 
children  of  the  kingdom.  He  would  breathe  into  them  the 
breath  of  the  new  royal  life  before  any  outward  organization 
was  dowered  with  the  royal  charter. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  DIVINE  ART  TEACHER.       THE   DIVINE  NATURE-WORKER. 

THE   DIVINE   MISSIONARY. 

"A  sweet  attracti%'e  kind  of  grace  ; 
A  full  assurance  given  by  looks  ; 
Continual  comfort  in  a  face, 

The  lineaments  of  gospel  books — 
I  trow  that  countenance  cannot  lye, 
Whose  thoughts  are  legible  in  the  eye." 

"  Friend's  Passion  for  his  AstropheL" 

Capernaum — Nain — The  Baptist  in  Machaerus — The  Saviour  and  the  lost 
woman — Divine  self-assertion — Spiritual  industry — Parables  of  Divine 
art  interpret  Nature — Miracle  of  power  over  Nature — Demonism — 
Incessant  labours -Mission  tours — The  martyr  of  Machaerus — The 
Feeding  of  the  Five  Thousand — The  Bread  of  Life — The  stormy  lake 
— The  contradiction  of  sinners — Passover  retreat — Back  to  work. 

Jesus  descended  from  the  mountain  of  Beatitudes,  and  entered 
into  Capernaum  (Luke  vii.  i).  The  crowds  had  not  dispersed. 
The  spell  of  His  presence  and  His  words  lay  upon  them.  They 
still  followed  Him.  They  witnessed  the  prayer  of  the  large- 
hearted  centurion,  the  wonder  of  the  Lord  at  his  faith  connect- 
ing itself  with  the  promise  of  many  more  of  Gentile  blood 
entering  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  This  last  word,  coming 
upon  us  as  a  surprise  in  the  Jewish  Gospel  (Matt.  viii.  Ii),  was 
one  of  those  germs  which  would  fructify  in  the  after-teaching  of 
the  disciples.  The  evidential  force  of  it  should  not  be  over- 
looked. The  Divine  Galilean  boldly  announced  the  world 
width  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  flatly  contradicted  the 
whole  stream  of  current  teaching  and  national  jealousy,  by  not 
only  admitting,  but  preferring  the  "  children  of  hell,"  in  Rab- 


THE  DIVINE  ART  TEACHER.  Io7 

binical  langiiajre,  to  the  "royal"  posterity  of  Abraham.  The 
unique  faith  of  the  straightforward  soldier  was  the  spark  which 
kindled  the  prophetic  fire.  By  a  natural  association  of  ideas, 
Jesus  already  saw  in  him  the  march  of  a  vast  army  of  likeminded 
soldiers  of  Christ. 

The  reward  of  faith  was  followed  by  a  miracle  where  no  faith 
could  have  found  place,  or  is  unrecorded  (Luke  vii.  ii).  Victory 
over  death  follows  victory  over  disease.  On  the  next  day,'  or 
shortly  after,-  still  accompanied  by  crowds,  sailing  perhaps  down 
the  lake,  and  then,  taking  one  of  the  still  existing  roads,  Christ 
came  to  what  was  then  a  city,  Nain,  some  twenty  miles  from 
Capernaum.  Nain,  in  "  its  green  nest  "  on  the  edge  of"  Little 
Hermon,''  well  deserved  its  descriptive  name,  "  the  pleasant." ' 
The  name  Nein  still  lingers  over  the  squalid  huts  which  mark 
the  site. 

The  two  streams  met  at  the  gate,  probably  on  the  east,  where 
the  "rough  rock  was  full  of  sepulchral  caves,  which  still  exist." 
The  only  Son  of  His  Mother  feels  for  the  mother  of  an  only 
son — and  she  a  widow.  The  body  lay  face  upwards  and  hands 
folded  on  the  breast,  like  an  effigy  on  a  cathedral  sepulchre. 
The  bier  was  open.  Jesus  came  and  touched  it.  The  initiative 
was  His  own.  In  an  instant  the  spirit  of  life  returned  to  the 
dead  young  man.  Fear  falls  upon  the  whole  multitude,  mourners 
with  the  tears  yet  upon  their  cheeks,  and  those  who  had  now 
witnessed  a  greater  triumph  than  any  that  went  before.  What 
was  the  spiritual  link  between  the  Divine  power  and  the  lifeless 
youth  .''  Some  think  *  he  died  with  an  intense  prayerful  yearn- 
ing for  life.  We  would  rather  leave  it  among  the  unrevealed 
mysteries  and  suggested  potencies  of  blessed  hope. 

Tidings  of  Jesus'  works  came  to  the  heroic  spirit  whom  Herod 
had  cast  into  his  fortress  prison.  St.  John  was  in  the  palace 
fortress  of  Machsrus,  now  M'Kaur.  The  castle,  standing 
"starkly  bold  and  clear," ^  3,860  feet  above  the  Dead  Sea,  2,546 
above  the  Mediterranean,  dominated  the  whole  country  round 
like  some  dark  angel.  Here  Herod  occupied  at  once  a  splendid 
palace  and  a  frontier  rampart  against  Arab  marauders  Within 
the  waste  of  ruins  which  now  mark  the  spot  the  two  dungeons 
of  the  citadel  still  remain,  "  the  small  holes  still  visible  in  the 

*  ipry  i^TjQ,  Gebhardt,  Tischendorf.  '  tv  rip,  Hort. 

3  Hugh  Macmillan,  "  Our  Lord's  Three  Raisings  from  the  Dead,"  p.  7^ 

*  Godet.  3  J.  fl.  Whiitier. 


ro8  JESUS  CHRIST. 

masonry,  where  staples  of  wood  and  iron  had  once  been  fixed."* 
One  of  these  was  probably  the  last  home  of  the  free  son  of  the 
wilderness. 

Never  did  life's  work  seem  a  more  complete  failure.  St.  John 
knew  how  God's  people  had  treated  God's  messengers  of  old. 
But  was  the  kingdom  of  heaven  still  but  a  floating  light  upon 
the  retreating  hills  of  prophecy?  and  the  immediate  future  as 
dark  as  the  mountain  walls  which  girdled  his  dungeon?  The 
uttermost  isolation,  bodily  and  spiritual,  the  horror  of  encom- 
passing darkness  left  its  trace  upon  the  strong  spirit.  The  iron 
entered  into  his  soul.  The  second  Elias,  like  the  first,  faltered. 
To  face  his  own  doubts,  and  to  satisfy  for  ever  himself  and  the 
faithful  disciples,  who  still  souglit  his  rocky  cell,  he  would  put 
the  question  to  Him  alone  who  could  answer  it.  "Art  Thou  the 
Coming  One  ijiabba)^  the  Man  of  the  Future,  or  do  we,  I  and 
my  school  of  faith,  wait  for  another  ?  "  The  answer  came, 
clothed  in  the  language  of  the  Messianic  prophet,""  whose  words 
and  spirit  were  the  life-breath  of  all  the  creed  and  teaching  of 
John.  The  benedictory  warning  ^  is  added  rather  to  hearten 
the  disciples  than  their  master,  "  Blessed  is  he,  whosoever  shall 
not  be  offended  in  Me."  The  brevity  of  the  dismissal  may  have 
been  needed  to  quicken  the  dull  flame  of  their  convictions. 
When  they  departed  lest  their  weakness  should  reflect  on  the 
Baptist,  Christ  lifted  up  His  voice  in  unqualified  praise  of  him 
who  was  a  prophet,  and  more  exceeding  a  prophet.  Yet,  stand- 
ing outside  His  Kingdom,  he  was  less  than  the  lesser  within. 
Holy  violence  such  as  his  could  alone  force  an  entrance  into  its 
gates.  Yet  this  generation  was  like  fretful  children,  who  would 
neither  mourn  with  the  ascetic  nor  rejoice  with  the  joy  of  the 
Messiah. 

In  St.  Luke's  record  a  dramatic  incident  follows  (vii.  36).  Our 
Lord's  dealings  with  women,  and  women's  dealings  with  Him, 
form  an  instructive  study,  and  show  marked  contrasts  with  the 
Rabbinical  theory  and  practice.  The  woman  who  came  through 
the  open  door  into  the  house  of  Simon  the  Pharisee  was  a  fallen 
one,  possibly  a  notorious  professional  harlot  of  the  town.  It 
may  have  been  Mary  of  Magdala,  whose  name  is  mentioned  so 
soon  afterwards.     Three  figures  are  prominent  in  the  company. 

'  Tristram,  "  Land  of  Moab,"  p.  259  ;  Edersheim. 
=  Isa.  XXXV.  5,  sq.  ;  xxix.  18,  sq.  ;  xlii.  7  ;  Ixi.  i,  sq. 
3  Not  "  public  censure,  "  as  Keim. 


THE   DIVINE   ART   TEACHER.  I09 

The  Holy  One,  all  tenderness  and  truth  ;  the  smooth  Pharisee, 
coldly  civil,  critically  unsympathetic  ;  the  penitent  daughter  of 
affliction,  gliding  in  unabashed  in  the  glory  of  her  passion  and 
her  tears.  Modern  verse  and  art  have  combined  to  halo  the 
gently  audacious  guest  raining  the  dew  of  her  tears  and  kisses 
upon  His  feet,  and  the  perfumed  ointment  from  her  flask  upon 
His  head. 

"Oh,  loose  me  !     See'stthou  not  my  Bridegroom's  face 
That  draws  me  to  Him?     For  His  feet  my  kiss, 
My  hair,  my  tears,  He  craves  to-day  ;  and  oh  ! 
What  words  can  tell  what  other  day  and  place 

Shall  see  me  clasp  those  blood-stained  feet  of  His? 
He  needs  me,  calls  me,  loves  me  ;  let  me  go."  ' 

Such  conduct  from  her,  and  towards  Him,  is  unthinkable  of 
any  contemporary  Rabbi,  and  was  immediately  challenged.  So, 
often,  the  good  works  of  Christ,  perhaps  always,  were  accom- 
panied or  followed  by  some  revelation  of  the  power  of  evil,  some 
liberation  of  defeated  spite,  to  mar  His  happiness  in  well-doing, 
and  to  counterwork  its  activity.  Criticism  turned  this  time  upon 
a  crucial  question — "Who  is  this  that  even''  forgiveth  sins.'"' 
It  was  a  personal  question.  The  answer  turned  upon  His  Nature 
and  Office.  Christ  indirectly  asserts  both,  and  so  far  from  with- 
drawing or  explaining  the  implied  authority,  reaffirms  it  by  His 
dismissal,  "  Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee  ;  go  in  peace." 

Attention  must  here  be  drawn  to  our  Lord's  repeated  as- 
sertions of  His  own  Nature  and  office.  Sometimes  directly, 
sometimes  indirectly,  sometimes  openly,  sometimes  by  impli- 
cation, sometimes  by  word,  sometimes  by  deed,  He  avows 
Himself  more  than  man,  and  the  equal  of  God.  Unless  these 
assertions  were  bond  fide  Christ  was  a  self-deceived  impostor, 
or  a  deceiver  whose  influence  was,  as  His  enemies  declared,  of 
Satanic  origin.  We  are  left  in  this  dilemma.  We  are  shut  up 
between  these  alternatives.  The  verdict  must  rest  with  the 
sound  heart  and  pure  conscience.  To  maintain  that  Christ 
was  a  self-deceived  enthusiast  is  an  outrage  upon  common 
sense.  If  any  man  was  sane  and  whole-hearted,  clear  in  mind 
and  purpose,  able  to  convince  others  of  His  absolute  wisdom, 

»  D.  G.  Rossetti. 

'  So  R.V'.,  if  as  .\.V.,  the  Ka'i  would  suggest  forgiveth  sins,  as  well  as 
treating  sinners  thus. 


no  JESUS   CHRIST, 

truth,  and  holiness,  it  was  this  Man,  it  is  this  Man.  Eithe* 
He  was  honest,  or  He  was  dishonest.  In  the  last  resort  this  is 
the  final  issue.  Upon  the  answer  to  this  question,  the  whole 
past  of  Christianity  depends,  the  whole  present,  and  the  whole 
future.  The  believer  echoes  St.  Paul's  "audacious  challenge"' 
from  the  inner  heart  of  His  own  experience,  if  Christ  be  not 
risen  then  are  we  of  men  most  wretched  ;  and  so  far  from 
admitting  it  to  belong  to  "  a  past  stage  of  religious  develop- 
ment"^ regards  it  as  the  decisive  issue  upon  which  all  future 
history  depends,  and  the  pledge  of  the  advancing  triumph  of 
Christ's  kingdom,  as  well  as  the  absolute  basis  of  his  own  in- 
ward and  outward  life. 

The  rapid  ingathering  of  the  multitudes,  and  the  special 
selection  of  the  Twelve,  and  the  manifold  works  of  healing  are 
indirect  evidence  of  the  Lord's  intense  activity.  His  work  was 
the  travail  of  a  spirit  held  in  leash  for  thirty  silent  years  of 
praying,  bursting  forth  with  the  fire  and  impetus  of  economized 
power.  A  vast  reserve  of  spiritual  energy  had  been  accumu- 
lating for  the  day  of  work.  The  springs  of  love  and  grace 
were  flowing  unchecked.  Viewed  merely  as  a  piece  of  human 
labour,  the  Lord's  industry  at  this  time  was  that  of  incarnate 
Work.  While  the  apostles  must  have  tested  the  powers  which 
they  were  "sent"  to  exercise,  He  bore  the  burden  and  heat  of 
the  day,  and  the  solitary  diadem  of  responsibility.  Among  His 
helpers  we  find  mention  of  many  women  (Luke  viii.  2),  one  of 
whom,  at  least  Joanna,  the  wife  of  Chuza,  Herod's  steward, 
was  of  the  upper  classes. 

The  first  recorded  parable  was  spoken  at  this  time.  Our 
Lord's  sympathy  with  Nature  was  not  only  artistic,  it  was  morah 
The  poet  interprets  the  beautiful  in  Nature,  the  physicist  the 
order  of  facts  ;  Christ  drew  out  the  moral  and  the  spiritual 
revelation.  Job  had  seen  something  of  this.  Isaiah  too,  and 
the  Psalmists.  But  Christ  was  the  first  to  emphasize  the 
unity  between  Nature  and  grace.  His  parables  are  translations 
of  the  order  of  Nature  into  the  order  of  grace.  He  created 
the  parable. 3  Apologues  are  found  such  as  Judges  ix.  8  and 
foil.,  2  Sara.  xii.  i,  but  the  parable  was  a  spiritual  work  of  art 
unattempted  before.  The  Buddhist  paral)les  of  the  so-called 
"Sower"  and  "Prodigal  Son"  may  be  compared  not  as 
«  ].  A.  Svniond>,  l-or/ii/i;li//y  Rrvin!\  ccNKi.  p.  S95. 
■   Ibid.  ■'  Kciniii,  |>.  136. 


THE   DIVINE   ART   TEACHER.  Ill 

possessing  "  exactly  the  same  tone  and  the  same  character,"  as 
M.  Renan  affirms,  but  as  allegorical  tales  and  images  suggesting 
doctrinal  or  moral  lessons.' 

The  parable  in  form  is  a  wo'-k  of  art.  Truth  is  taught 
mediately  ;  the  truth  of  spirit  enshrined  in  matter.  The  moral 
function  of  art  is  best  taught  in  one  of  its  highest  teacher's 
words. 

"  Why  take  the  artistic  way  to  prove  so  much  ? 
Because,  it  is  the  glory  and  good  of  Art, 
That  Art  remains  the  one  way  possible 
Of  speaking  truth,  to  mouths  like  mine,  at  least. 
How  look  a  brother  in  the  face  and  say, 
'  Thy  right  is  wrong,  eyes  hast  thou  \el  art  blind, 
Thine  ears  are  stopped  and  stuffed,  despite  their  length, 
And,  oh,  the  foolishness  thou  countest  faith  !' 
Say  this  as  silverly  as  tongue  can  troll — 
The  anger  of  the  man  may  be  endured, 
The  shrug,  the  disappointed  eyes  of  him. 
Are  not  so  bad  to  bear — but  there's  the  plague 
That  all  this  trouble  comes  of  telling  truth, 
Which  truth,  by  when  it  reaches  him,  looks  false. 
Seems  to  be  just  the  thing  it  would  supplant, 
Nor  recognizable  by  whom  it  left — 
While  falsehood  would  have  done  the  work  of  truth," 
But  Art,  wherein  man  speaks  to  men. 
Only  to  mankind — Art  may  tell  a  truth 
Obliquely,  do  the  thing  shall  breed  the  thought, 
Nor  wrong  the  thought,  missing  the  mediate  word."' 

The  first  parable  contains  under  its  landscape  colouring  a 
complete  moral  classification.  It  is  a  work  of  the  master  of 
spiritual  analysis.  It  is  a  scientific  arrangement,  valid  for  all 
tiines  and  places,  of  human  hearts  in  experimental  contact  with 
the  Word  of  God.  That  Word  is  the  seed  truth  of  the  kingdom, 
and  was  spoken  in  His  pre-incarnatedaysby  the  Word  through 
human  organs,  and  was  now  spoken  by  Himself.  All  human 
hearts  upon  whose  soil  the  word  fell,  falls,  and  will  fall,  from 
the  hand  of  the  Sower,  or  His  ministers  and  workers,  are  here 
classed  in  four  divisions.     They  are  not  arranged  upon  arith- 

»  Cf.  Rhys  Davids,  "  Buddhism,"  p.  133  f.  ;  his  so-called  Parable  of  the 
Sower  is  an  invidious  misnomer,  cf.  reff.  s.  I.,  and  Pressense,  "The 
Ancient  World  and  f  hristianity,"  p.  241,  and  Bp.  Copleston  on  Buddhisnn 

*  R.  Browning,  "  The  Rmg  and  the  Book,"  ad  fin. 


r;2  JESUS   CHRIST. 

nietical  principles.  They  are  qualitative,  not  quantitative  dis- 
tinctions. 

The  first  parable  was  minutelj'  explained  by  Jesus,  in  order 
to  supply  the  key  to  open  others,  and  with  a  view  to  teach  His 
disciples  how  to  clothe  His  truths  in  like  lively  forms,  and  here 
in  also  to  discern  the  inter-relations  of  Nature  and  grace  in  their 
identity  ot  source,  common  dependence  upon  law,  and  simi- 
irity  of  operation. 

A  cluster  of  parables  are  grouped  in  the  Synoptists  with  the 
first,  probably  spoken  at  difterent  times.  The  teaching  through- 
out was  one,  the  word  (Mark  iv.  33)  developed  under  various 
aspects,  according  to  the  spiritual  capabilities  of  the  hearers. 
The  leading  idea  of  the  whole  was  the  Kingdom  of  God,  its 
outward  development,  its  inward  development,  its  absolute 
worth,  its  finality,  its  authoritativeness. 

The  underlying  teaching  of  Nature  was  uncovered  by  Christ 
in  the  parables.  His  spiritual  insight  into  Nature  was  exhibited 
that  the  inward  and  spiritual  might  always  be  detected  in  and 
under  the  outward  and  visible.  "  Verily  Thou  art  a  God  that 
hidest  Thyself,"  was  the  summary  of  prophetic  interpretation  of 
Nature  under  the  Law.  Verily  Thou  art  a  God  that  revealest 
Thyself  is  the  Christian  version.  From  the  time  of  Jesus 
Nature  has  become  a  sacrament,  whereof  artist  and  poet  and 
man  of  science  have  partaken  in  diverse  ways  and  many  parts,  a 
sacrament  of  life  unto  life,  or  of  death  unto  death. 

By  a  harmonious  sequence  of  teaching  in  word  and  teaching 
in  work,  Jesus  exhibited  His  power  over  the  forces  of  Nature 
after  He  had  unfolded  the  spiritual  lights  which  lay  hid  within 
them.  He  is  the  Divine  Man  of  Science  imposing  His  laws 
superphysical,  as  He  is  the  Divine  Artist  revealing  beauties 
supersensible.  But  this  miracle  was  not  primarily  a  lesson, 
still  less  a  dramatic  display  of  power.  It  followed  in  the 
natural  order  of  events.  It  was  evoked  by  circumstances  ;  it 
fell  in  with  the  ordinary  current  of  the  Galilean  trials  of  life.  And 
it  was  singularly  adapted  to  impress  the  hardy  fishermen  of  the 
lake  in  the  line  of  their  own  business  and  experience.  It  was 
one  of  the  casts  of  the  Fisher  of  men.  They  had  seen  a 
hundred  times  the  majesty,  the  violence,,  the  sudden  impetuosity 
of  the  Galilean  storms.  They  had  long  known  the  fickle 
temper  of  the  winds  which  swept  down  the  gorges  of  the  hills, 
and  left   the   lake  half  calm,  half   riot  and  confusion.      They 


THE   DIVINE  NATURE-WOkKER.  in 

may  have  lost  dear  lives  in  such  storms,  on  such  days  ox 
nights  when 

"  One  could  not  hear 
A  word  the  other  said,  for  wind  and  sea 
That  raged  and  beat  and  thundered  ;  "  * 

or  waited  and  watched 

"  The  awfullest,  the  longest,  lightest  night 
That  ever  parents  had  to  spend — a  moon 
That  shone  like  daylight  on  the  breaking  wave. 
Ah  me  !  and  other  men  have  lost  their  lads,  .  .  . 
And  seen  the  driftwood  lie  along  the  coast."  * 

And  now  they  seem  likely  to  lose  their  own,  for  one  of  those 
thunder  gusts  that  hurtle  across  the  lake  and  lash  the  calm 
surface  into  tossing  sheets  of  foam^  had  burst  in  more  than 
ordinary  violence,  as  is  shown  by  their  terror,  upon  the  filling 
vessel.  And  the  Master  slept  tranquilly  on  the  steerman's 
pillow  as  in  His  Father's  arms.  At  their  cry  of  alarm  He 
awoke,  and  the 

"  Wild  winds  hush'd  " 

in  a  moment  at  His  breath.  It  was  a  double-edged  reproof. 
He  smote  the  winds  with  a  curt  rebuke,  as  if  behind  the  in- 
animate play  of  impersonal  forces  He  beheld  (as  perhaps  He 
did)  the  active  personal  control  of  a  guilty  spirit.  And  the 
disciples  were  chid  for  the  faith  which  had  not  cast  out  fear. 

This  victory  over  Nature  was  immediately  succeeded  by  a 
very  different  one.  The  psychology  of  demonism  is  obscure. 
Modern  lunacy  furnishes  points  of  contact,  and  apparent 
instances  of  it  now  and  then.**  But  the  two  are  not  to  be  con- 
founded, as  the  ordinary  lunatic  may  merely  suffer  from  some 

'  Jean  Ingelow,   ''Brothers,  and  a  Sermon."  "  Ibid. 

3  Compare  Captain  Conder's  graphic  account  of  a  storm,  "  Tent  Life,'' 
ii.  p.  340. 

■*  Tiie  writer  believes  there  is  more  connection  between  the  two  than  is 
usually  supposed,  and  is  in  possession  of  evidence  indicating  that  both 
demoniac  possession  still  exists,  especially  in  uncivilized  and  unchristianed 
countries,  and  that  cases  of  lunacy  are  sometimes  partly,  at  least,  spiritually 
conditioned. 

9 


114  JESUS  CHRIST. 

cerebral  disease,  while  the  demonized  need  have  had  none,  and 
was  conscious  of  possession  by  some  foul  spirit,  sometimes 
losing  his  consciousness  in  that  of  his  master  fiend,  sometimes 
violently  asserting  his  own  separate  individuality.  Again,  the 
moral  connection  between  demonism  and  evil  was  absolute, 
between  lunacy  and  evil  it  is  partial  and  relative  and  occasional. 

It  must  still  have  been  evening  when,  after  the  short,  stormy 
passage,  the  crew  lar,ded  on  the  eastern  shore.  Two  demoniacs, 
one  of  whom  appears  to  have  been  the  spokesman  and  leader, 
immediately  (Mark  v.  2)  came  to  meet  Him.  Led  by  some 
unaccountable  Divine  instinct,  some  far-off  vibration  of  mercy, 
they  saw  Him  at  a  distance  in  the  moonlight,  and  ran  and 
worshipped  Him.  Unless  the  sacred  narrative  be  tampered 
with  in  the  interests  of  critical  presuppositions,  the  demons 
recognized  Jesus,  addressed  Him  in  a  loud  voice  as  the  Son 
of  the  Most  High  God,  and  besought  permission  to  enter  the 
swine.  And  He  said  unto  them,  Go.  The  sharp  bluff  down 
which  the  panic-stricken  herd  rushed  has  been  easily  identified, 
and  the  caverns  and  sepulchral  rock-chambers  out  of  which 
the  demonized  came  abound  around.  One  of  the  two  patients 
of  Jesus  clung  doglike  to  his  Saviour's  presence,  clothed,  and 
sane,  but  he  is  ordered  to  leave  it  and  to  proclaim  God's 
mercies  to  his  own  circle.  The  owners  of  the  swine  and  all 
the  city  would  rather  be  rid  of  Him.  "  Egypt  was  glad  at  their 
departing.''     The  stone  of  stumbling  proved  an  offence. 

The  question  of  Christ's  right  to  destroy,  or,  more  accurately, 
to  suffer  the  destruction  of  animal  life  and  property,  has  been 
raised.  But  it  is  only  a  part  of  the  larger  question  of  the 
permission  of  all  evil,  moral  and  physical.  In  this  case  moral 
reasons  appear  on  the  surface.  It  was  for  the  good  of  the 
possessed  that  he  should  have  ocular  evidence  of  the  removal 
of  his  masters  ;  and  the  same  applies  with  less  force  to  the 
disciples.  It  was  for  the  good  of  the  owners  who  set  so  much 
store  upon  their  swine,  and  probably  in  defiance  of  the  law, 
for  the  population  of  Perzea  was  essentially  Jewish,*  that  they 
should  learn  by  punishment  if  they  would  not  be  taught  by 
mercy. 

Jesus  returned  by  sea.  Crowds  gathered  round  Him  in  the 
morning  hght.  Pushing  his  way  through  (Luke  viii.  41)  with 
the  persistency  of  an  impassioned  purpose,  Jairus,  one  of  the 
'  Schiirer,  i.  :5.  and  retf.  f.  /.  to  losrplnis  and  the  Mishna. 


THK.    DIVINK    .MISSIOXAKV.  II5 

synagogue  rulers,  lays  his  father's  sorrows  at  llie  feet  of  Jesus. 
His  healing  powers  were  well  known  ;  and  His  words  of 
**  comfort  ye,"  and  His  pitifulness,  and  sweet  compassionate- 
ness  must  have  been  recognized  in  the  synagogue,  and  by  the 
bedsides  of  the  sick,  most  of  all  by  the  merciful  and  the 
sorrowful.  On  His  way  a  woman  with  an  issue  of  blood  (Luke 
viii.  44)  touched  His  tallith,  and  was  healed  of  the  twelve  years' 
incurable  malady  and  consequent  Levitical  uncleanness.  Many 
of  such  restored  invalids,  comforted  mourners,  and  healed  sick, 
if  only  one  in  ten  like  the  lepers  were  grateful,  must  have 
formed  a  nucleus  round  which  the  Messianic  societies  would 
increase. 

The  house  of  Jairus  was  now  reached.  Tumult  and  wail  and 
"the  flutes  for  the  dead"  sound  round  the  still  form.  So  far 
from  wishing  to  advertise  His  recall  of  the  maiden  to  life,  Jesus 
took  apart  with  the  parents  only  His  select  three.  Peter  and 
John  and  James  were  now  for  the  first  time  taken  into  the 
innermost  circle  of  His  confidence.  It  was  a  spiritual  differen- 
tiation of  the  three  most  like-minded  to  Himself,  and  most 
adapted  to  respond  to  the  high  gift  and  burden  of  His  special 
call.  "Talyetha  Qum "  ;  two  words  recall  the  spirit  to  its 
forsaken  tenement.  She  awoke  from  the  death  which  our 
Lord,  in  common  with  Rabbinism,  called  sleep.  Perhnps  this, 
the  second,  to  be  followed  by  a  third,  return  from  the  kingdom 
of  the  departed,  prepared  the  way  there  for  our  Lcrd's  myste- 
rious journey  from  the  Cross  to  Hades,  and  the  proclamation  to 
disembodied  spirits.  Before  His  saving  death,  before  the  keys 
of  Hades  (Rev.  i.  18)  lay  in  His  victorious  hand,  the  spirits  of 
the  departed  cannot  have  been  as  blessed  as  after.  Since  the 
parting  of  that  soul  and  body,  and  the  penitent  robber's  trans- 
lation into  Paradise,  a  new  beatitude  has  been  uttered  on  them 
that  sleep  in  Him,  and  on  those  who  mourn  for  them.  Christ 
passes  from  the  busy  streets  of  Capernaum.  Perhaps  He  was 
becoming  too  famous  there,  and  a  continuous  presence  and 
work  might  have  precipitated  a  Messianic  movement,  and  one 
of  the  very  kind  He  uniformly  rejected.  His  Messianic  policy 
was  founded  on  a  Divine,  not  a  human,  basis.  Otherwise  He 
might  have  created  a  storm  of  popular  enthusiasm  in  any  of 
the  largest  towns,  and  ridden  upon  the  crest  of  it  to  the  gates 
of  the  capital.  There  are,  too,  unseen  links  of  spiritual  causa- 
tion in  all  lives  governed  by  conscious  obedience  to  Divine 


Il6  JESUS   CHRIST. 

vocation.  Alike  in  its  greater  heights  and  deeps,  as  in  its 
every-day  entrance  into  commonplace  duties,  the  life  of  the 
Divine  Being  in  the  flesh  is,  and  must  be,  a  mystery  which  the 
highest  raptures  of  faith  in  its  loftiest  adoration  must  approach 
a  great  way  off.  He  returns  to  Nazareth  (Mark  vi.  l).  His 
own  city  has  a  second  opportunity  offered.  The  same  objection 
is  made.  The  narrow  vulgarity  of  local  self-sufficiency  cannot 
understand  His  "generation."  How  could  He  rise  above  the 
level  of  His  "parents"  and  family  ?  It  was  a  social  breach  of 
the  laws  of  Nature.  Their  unbelief  imposed  hmits  upon  Christ's 
power,  ai  d  He  wondered.  But  the  dilemma  before  them  and 
modern  unbelief  is  the  same.  His  human  environment  being 
what  it  was,  how  could  He  rise  so  infinitely  above  not  His 
source  only,  but  above  His  highest  contemporaries  in  the  whole 
world,  in  thought,  and  in  life,  unless  He  was  "before  them"? 
(John  i.  15.)  What  laws  of  heredity,  of  environment,  of  evolu- 
tion can  account  for  Him.?  If  His  origin  was  not  natural,  then 
no  account  is  possible,  but  that  for  which  His  own  word  is 
pledged.  Either  the  Nazarenes  were  right,  and  are  the  creditors 
of  the  human  race,  for  their  superior  insight,  or  He  whom  they 
cast  out.  "  We  can  understand  nothing  of  the  works  of  God, 
if  we  do  not  take  it  as  a  principle  that  He  blinds  some  while 
He  illuminates  others."  '  Into  the  conditions  of  such  blindness 
we  need  not  now  inquire.  But  so  much  we  may  be  permitted 
to  observe.  That  the  Nazarenes  had,  if  exceptional  difficulty 
on  social  ground,  exceptional  privilege.  They  had  witnessed 
for  years  the  lovely  growth  of  the  tender  plant ;  they,  in  all  the 
world. 

A  general  missionary  tour  followed  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
bourhood. And  now  as  the  spiritual  harvest  lay  thick,  He 
called  to  Him  His  reapers.  Not  till  the  time  was  come,  not 
till  the  workers  had  received  some  preliminary  training,  did  He 
send  them  forth.  He  sent  them  two  by  two  (Mark  vi.  7  f. ; 
Matt.  X.  5  f.  ;  Luke  ix.  i  f.)  as  His  missionaries  now  ought  to 
be,  and  are  more  often  sent,  possibly  to  regions  as  yet  un- 
visited  by  Him.  The  mission  was  not  final,  but  temporary  ; 
not  catholic,  but  limited  to  the  house  of  Israel.  Their  function 
was  to  preach  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  to  heal,  to  cast  out 
demons,  and  to  raise  the  dead.     They  were  royal  messengers 

•  Pascal,  Thoughts,  xviii. 


THE   DIVINE   MISSIONARY.  117 

and  emissaries  accredited  with  delegated  royal  authority.  They 
were  to  go  unprepared,  unprovided.  A  Jewish  colouring  per- 
vades the  whole  charge  of  their  Master.  The  words  in  St. 
Matthew's  account  go  beyond  the  immediate  prospect,  and 
gather  up  the  fragmentary  missionary  directions  of  different 
occasions.  This  is  quite  in  accordance  with  the  classifying 
method  of  the  sacred  writer.  The  spirit  of  all  His  missionary 
operations  is  identical,  though  the  form  and  manner  may  differ 
■widely. 

The  sacred  narrative  abruptly  turns  at  this  point  to  the  heroic 
spirit  who  lay  forgotten  in  the  rocky  dungeon  at  Mach^rus 
(Mark  vi.  21  ;  Matt.  xiv.  6).  Spring  had  come,  and  with  it  the 
approach  of  Passover.  The  anniversary  of  the  death  of  Herod 
the  Great,  and  of  the  accession  of  Antipas  to  his  Tetrarchy  has 
arrived.  There  is  a  sound  of  revelry.  Salome,  daughter  of 
the  adulterous  Queen  Herodias,  descendant  of  the  Asmonaean 
heroes,  granddaughter  of  a  king,  dances,  like  a  Nautch  girl, 
before  the  tetrarch  and  his  lords  and  courtiers.  And  the  head 
of  the  noblest  of  the  pre-Christian  white-robed  army  of  martyrs 
falls  as  the  guerdon  of  a  dancing-girl.     But 

"  Be  sure  they  sleep  not  whom  God  needs  !  " ' 

The  tidings  of  this  event  must  have  moved  Jesus  deeply. 
The  forerunner  had  been  faithful  unto  death,  and  had  gone 
before  to  the  end  which  awaited  his  Lord  in  a  greater  darkness 
of  foreseen  horror.  And  His  immediate  plan  was  adapted  to 
the  change.  Yielding  to  the  current  of  events,  to  escape  the 
danger  in  which  the  murder  of  the  Baptist  involved  Himself  and 
His  disciples,  and  the  uprising  of  popular  indignation,  Christ 
retreated  across  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  outside  the  jurisdiction  of 
Antipas,  to  Bethsaida-Julias. 

When  St.  John's  voice  had  been  silenced  in  the  prison 
fortress,  and  his  outward  and  visible  work  broken  off,  the  cry 
of  the  kingdom  was  again  taken  up  by  Christ,  and  rung 
through  Galilee.  The  prophet's  work  had  died  only  to  rise 
again  to  a  new  life  of  higher  and  wider  fulfilment,  and  his 
message  to  be  repeated  in  louder  tones  with  more  peremptory 
authority.  There  are  no  gaps  in  the  continuity  of  the  kingdom, 
no  breaks  in  the  order  of  Divine  development. 

'  R.  Browning,  "  Paracelsus." 


Il8  JESUS   CHRIST. 

"  O  power  to  do  !  O  baffled  will ! 
O  prayer  and  action  !  ye  are  one 
Who  may  not  strive,  may  yet  fulfil 
The  harder  task,  of  standing  still, 
And  good  but  wished  with  God  is  done."* 

The  news  of  St.  John's  death  must  have  spread  rapidly 
among  the  people,  and  may  have  been  one  element  in  the 
motives  which  brought  a  vast  concourse  after  Jesus,  and  sug- 
gested the  popular  rising  to  make  Him  king.  The  miraculous 
feeding  of  the  five  thousand  men,  without  counting  women  and 
children,  is  alone  of  all  the  miracles  related  in  full  by  all  four 
evangelists.  Its  importance  lay  in  its  symbolical  meaning.  It 
was  an  act  of  Divine  coinpassion;  in  the  first  place.  They  who 
had  hungered  after  righteousness,  and  sought  first  the  kingdom 
of  God,  did  not  even  lose  their  daily  bread.  But  the  discourse 
in  the  s}  nagogue  at  Capernaum  interprets  the  sacramental 
prophecy  of  the  miracle.  Jesus  began  both  to  do  and  teach. 
This  is  His  way.  First  the  work,  then  the  doctrinal  content. 
The  discourse  and  the  miracle  interpret  one  another.  Christ 
would  be  the  Bread  of  Life ;  His  apostles  and  successive 
ministers  would  distribute  the  Bread  to  His  people.  His  very 
words  and  action,  the  blessing,  the  breaking,  look  onward  to 
the  Last  Supper,  as  the  Last  Supper  preludes  the  Marriage 
Supper  of  the  Lamb.  The  Passover,  too,  was  nigh,  and  most 
of  the  guests  at  the  table  in  the  wilderness  were  on  their  way 
to  partake  of  the  Paschal  Lamb  in  Jerusalem.  And  was  there 
not  also  the  further  thought  indicated  that  all  "daily  bread" 
should  savour,  as  in  St.  Augustine's  rendering  of  the  Divine 
prayer,  of  the  "  supersubstantial  Bread,"  and  all  common  food 
recall  Divine,  and  every  Christian  table  be  a  table  of  the  Lord  ? 

It  was  upon  the  green  grass  at  the  north-east  corner  of  the 
lake,  near  the  e.-'.stern  Bethsaida,  perhaps  now  Et  Tell,  or 
Bethsaida-Julias,  upon  the  present  fertile  plain  of  Batihah,  that 
the  multitudes  sat  down  in  order.  St.  Mark,  from  the  graphic 
stroke  of  St.  Peter,  has  pictured  the  scene  in  a  word.  Their 
many-coloured  order,  their  regular  arrangement,  suggested  rows 
of  "garden-beds,"  bordered  by  the  verdure  of  the  spring  grass. 

Turning  from  spiritual  to  historical  sequence,  the  tumul- 
tuous Messianic  enthusiasm  which  broke  out  after  the  miracle 

»  J.  G.  Whiuier,   "  The  Waiting." 


THE   DIVINE    MISSIONARY.  II9 

of  feeding  forced  Jesus  to  decide  between  heading  the  excitable 
multitude  on  a  royal  march  to  the  capital  or  instantly  leaving 
them.  The  disciples  had  been  fired  by  the  explosion  of  popular 
feeling,  and  two  Gospels  significantly  report  that  they  were 
compelled  by  Jesus  to  embark  while  He  dismissed  the  multi- 
tude. Here,  then,  the  third  temptation  had  recurred,  and  His 
own  friends  were  an  instrument  in  it.  Had  He  been  a  mere 
social  reformer  or  Nationalist,  He  would  have  mounted  on  the 
wave  of  an  overpowering  popular  impulse  to  the  highest  place 
of  authority.  Not  so  ;  He  fled  to  the  mountain,  to  be  alone 
with  God,  wrapt  in  the  storm,  but  with  a  soul  bright  with  the 
consciousness  of  duty  done  and  temptation  overcome,  as  lake 
and  shore  and  windy  height  with  the  effulgence  of  the  Paschal 
moon.  Yet  in  their  hour  of  need  unforgetful  He  walks  across 
the  waves  to  the  tossing  boat  and  labouring  crew.  Perhaps 
this  was  rather  a  work  of  psychical  sympathy  than  of  power. 

"  Star  to  star  vibrates  light :  may  soul  to  soul 
Strike  thro'  a  finer  element  of  her  own  ?  "  • 

Sympathy  annihilates  distance,  and  reads  the  thoughts  of  the 
farthest  away.  They  were  in  actual  jeopardy,  in  fear  ;  perhaps 
further  disheartened  at  His  repulse  of  an  offer  which,  made  by 
so  vast  a  Galilean  multitude,  if  not  national  in  act,  was  national 
in  promise.  Their  faith  must  be  strengthened,  their  hope  con- 
firmed, their  love  not  left  comfortless.  And  so,  quite  naturally, 
and  without  effort.  He  stepped  across  the  moon-lit  surge  and 
brought  them  to  the  haven  where  they  would  be. 

The  western  Bethsaida,  or  "  Fisherton,"  must  have  been 
very  near  Capernaum,  and  was  probably  its  fishing  suburb.^ 
Christ  had  purposed  landing  ;  but  the  storm-drift  had  borne 
them  northward,  and  they  made  shore  at  the  beautiful  "land  of 
Gennesaret,"  now  the  marshy  plain  of  El  Ghuweir,  along  the 
north-western  shore.  The  discourse  in  the  synagogue  on  the 
Bread  of  Life,  must  have  been  delivered  on  the  Sabbath,  or 
Saturday  ;  consequently  it  was  early  on  Friday  morning  when 
the  Lord  landed,  and  the  miraculous  meal,  like  its  antitype, 
took  place  on  Thursday  evening.    During  Friday  took  place  the 

'  Tennyson,  "Aylmer's  Field." 

»  Comparing  Mark  vi.  45  and  Johd  vi.  17  and  Mark  L  29  with  John  i 
44  •  xii.  21. 


I20  JESUS  CHRIST. 

concourse  of  out-patients,  as  if  to  a  living  hospital.  These 
must  have  been  happy  hours  of  healing.  They  were  not 
undisturbed.  The  evil  spirit  of  opposition  rises  up  in  the 
person  of  a  deputation  of  Pharisees  and  Scribes  from  Jeru- 
salem. \Vhy  at  this  particular  crisis  is  not  clear,  nor  is  it 
material.  The  question  between  them  was  fundamental. 
Underlying  the  particular  point  of  complaint,  eating  with 
unvvashen  hands,  lay  the  whole  principle  at  stake,  which 
Western  thought  would  have  formulated  in  exact  terms :  First, 
what  was  the  relative  importance  of  Scripture  and  tradition? 
Second,  what  was  the  authority  of  Christ  in  comparison  with 
both  ?  Third,  what  was  the  spiritual  worth  and  position  re- 
spectively of  the  opposite  parties  ?  A  definite  solution  of  these 
questions  was  essential.  A  point  of  detail  involved  the  whole 
principles.  Any  mode  of  reconciliation  between  the  contending 
forces  of  thought  was  more  of  a  moral  than  an  intellectual 
impossibility,  because  the  difference  was  really  spiritual,  a 
difference  of  character — the  final  difference  of  Christ  and 
anti-Christ  in  all  their  embodiments  of  thought  and  life. 

With  regard  to  the  first  question,  Christ  appeared  to 
Rabbin  ism  to  be  taking  up  a  revolutionary  position,  whereas 
He  really  returned  to  the  original  and  primary  prototypal 
revelation.  To  this  day  Christianity  is  faithful  to  the  first- 
hand law.  The  Jews  are  the  representatives  of  hereditary 
degenerate  Rabbinism.  Christ  restored  the  true  type.  Phari- 
saism was  connnitted  to  the  degenerate  forms.  The  law  of 
custom  (the  HalacJiaJi)  was  "  quite  as  binding  as  the  written 
Thorah  (law)  ;  "  '  nay,  as  the  former  was  the  "  authentic  exposi- 
tion and  completion  of  the  latter,"  a  breach  of  it  was  a  more 
serious  transgression.  While  the  Law  was  supreme  and  final 
in  name,  in  practice  it  was  superseded  and  made  void.  The 
conscience  could  not  breathe.  Religion  was  adulterated  at  its 
source.  Christ  came  to  substitute  a  natural  for  an  artificial 
conscience,  to  harmonize  nature  and  grace,  or  rather  to  trans- 
form nature  into  grace,  mechanical  slavery  into  free-hearted, 
intelligent  obedience  ;  in  short,  to  substitute  the  spirit  of 
sonship  for  the  spirit  of  servitude.  The  Pharisaic  party  were 
too  heavily  laden  with  their  own  fetters  to  appreciate  the  sweet 
air  of  freedom  ;  nor  could  they  confess  ignorance  and  sin,  and 

'  Schiirer,  i.  334  and  reff. 


THE   DIVINE   MISSIONARY.  121 

humble  themselves  to  the  seat  of  the  poor  in  spirit.  Pride  was 
their  sin  of  sins. 

With  regard  to  externalism  then  and  thereafter,  Christ  came 
to  set  it  upon  its  right  basis.  Here  again  He  came  not  to 
destroy,  but  to  fulfil  ;  to  combine  together  internal  and  external 
truth,  as  soul  and  body  are  united.  Spirit  and  matter  coexisting 
in  Him  could  and  should  coexist  in  happy  accord,  the  latter 
subject  to  the  former,  as  the  body  to  the  soul. 

"  Inward  evermore 
To  outward, — so  in  life,  and  so  in  art, 
Which  still  is  life."' 

The  whole  incidental  question  of  ceremonial  is  here  deter- 
mined. Ceremonies  are  indifferent  in  themselves.  To  eat  with 
unwashen  hands  defiles  not  a  man.  Their  moral  and  spiritual 
valuation  entirely  depends  upon  the  spiritual  thought  they  em- 
body, the  spiritual  life  they  reveal.  Christ  Himself  used  cere- 
mony when  He  broke  bread  and  blessed  it,  and  likewise  the 
cup.  Ceremony  was  an  end  in  itself  in  the  Judaism  of  Christ's 
days,  and  is  still  in  Brahminisni  and  many  forms  of  non- 
Christian  religions  and  superstitions,  from  fetishism  upwards. 
By  Christ  ceremony  was  not  put  out  of  court,  but  humbled  to  a 
means  and  instrument. 

Two  of  the  dark  shadows  of  the  Passion  were  already  falling 
upon  Christ  in  these  victorious  hours.  One  was  the  contradiction 
of  sinners  ;  the  other  was  the  falling  away  of  His  own  friendst 
As  the  Pharisees  openly  thwarted  Him,  so  the  doctrinal  dis- 
course upon  the  Bread  of  Life  was  the  signal  for  disafi"ection 
and  desertion.  "Will  ye  also  go  away?"  was  the  appeal  of 
human  and  Divine  disappointment  to  the  first,  so  to  speak,  of  a 
long  series  of  refusals  to  His  holy  table. 

The  discourse  was  spoken,  partly  at  least,  "in  synagogue." 
The  Palestine  explorers  have  discovered  eleven  synagogues, 
and  Mr.  Oliphant  another  since,  at  El  Dikkeh.  The  architec- 
ture of  these  is  much  alike.  It  is  a  florid  and  debased  Roman 
type.  The  Capernaum  synagogue,  being  built  of  white  lime- 
stone blocks,  must  have  formed  a  conspicuous  contrast  to  the 
black  basalt  all  round.  The  pot  of  manna  found  engraven  on 
a  block  may  have  pointed  Christ's  very  words.     Verse  y]  ^"^^ 

'  E.  B.  Browning,  "  Aurora  Leigh." 


122  JESUS  CHRIST. 

following  appear  to  have  been  spoken  in  further  explanation  to 
the  inner  circle  of  the  disciples. 

The  chilling  blasts  of  controversy  which  had  beaten  upon 
them  must  have  deepened  our  Lord's  purpose  of  seeking  a 
restful  shelter  for  the  weary,  disappointed  spirits.  The  two 
miracles,  accompanied  by  the  Messianic  storms  of  favour  and 
disfavour,  had  been  an  exciting  episode,  and  our  Lord  and  His 
disciples  would  be  glad  of  a  quiet  Passover.  He  retired  to  the 
borders  of  Tyre  and  Sidon  without  leaving  the  land  of  Israel 
proper  (Matt.  xv.  21  ;  Mark  vii.  24),  and  must  have  kept  the  feast 
"in  some  friendly  Jewish  home."'  Here  the  intercessory  faith 
of  the  Syro-Phoenician  woman  was  rewarded,  after  being 
purified  by  instruction  and  whetted  by  delay,  by  the  dispos- 
session of  her  daughter.  The  act  was  one  of  the  incidental 
mercies  of  special  Providence,  and  may  have  roused  the  droop- 
ing spirits  of  the  disciples.  It  was  another  preparatory  hint 
that  Samarian  schismatic,  Roman  or  Greek  proselyte,  and 
even  outer  heathen,  were  to  find  a  place  in  His  household  and 
at  His  table.  It  was  another  indication  that  the  fence  of  law 
and  privilege  and  ceremony  and  tradition  was  being  broken 
down,  that  all  nations  would  seek  and  find  the  Universal 
Healer.  They  were  so  slow  in  apprehending  the  Messianic 
kingdom  that  they  may  have  put  down  to  the  overflow  of 
gracious  sympathy  what  was  a  scientific  law  of  the  kingdom. 
That  kingdom  was  to  be  universal,  not  natural  ;  cosmic,  not 
terrene  ;  eternal,  not  temporal.  Entrance  into  it,  and  alle- 
giance to  it,  demanded  spiritual,  not  natural,  affinities.  For 
some  such  purpose  He  may  have  taken  the  circuitous  route  of 
the  district  of  Sidon  '^  as  His  return  journey.  Another  excursion 
into  heathendom  follows.  Decapolis  becomes  the  scene  of 
missionary  activity  and  of  many  works  of  healing.  The  feed- 
ing of  the  four  thousand  takes  place.  Hagaret-en-Nusara,  or 
•'Stones  of  the  Christians,"  one  of  the  points  of  the  Toran 
range,  is  the  supposed  site. 

'  Edersheim,  ii.  44. 

=  Mark  vii.  31.  "  Tlirough  Sidon,"  R.V.,  Tischendorf,  Westcott  and 
H=rt.  &c. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE  DIVINE  TRANSFIGURATION. 

"  Upon  a  sudden  One  there  entered  there 
Whose  countenance  with  marvellous  beauty  shone, 

More  than  the  sons  of  men  divinely  fair, 
And  all  whose  presence  did  the  hkeness  wear 
Of  angel  more  than  men." 

Archbishop  Trench,  "  Gertrude  of  Saxony." 

On  the  way  to  Caesarea  Philippi— The  Petrine  confession— The  Rock — 
The  Divine  sign— The  excellent  glory- The  descent— The  return— The 
predictions. 

"The  retreats  of  Jesus  were  not  merely  journeys  of  flight  ;  they 
were  epochs  of  reflection,"  '  and,  we  may  add,  of  revelation,  of 
progressive  teaching.  The  storm  of  opposition,  the  ebb  of 
desertion,  had  not  shaken  Christ's  spirit  nor  abated  His  pur- 
pose. Caesarea  Philippi,  Hermon,  were  spiritual  stages  on  the 
road  to  Jerusalem.  Having  dismissed  the  multitudes  (Matt.  xv. 
39),  Christ  came  to  the  region  of  Magadan  and  Dalmanutha 
(Mark  viii.  10),  which  are  unidentified,  unless  the  latter  be 
Tarichsea,''  Kerak,  and  encountered  the  Pharisees  and  Saddu- 
cees.  They  demanded  a  sign  from  heaven,  perhaps  in  allusion 
to  the  manna  feeding.  Leaving  the  issue  to  be  fought  out  upon 
another  arena.  He  journeyed  on  beyond  the  borders  of  Israel, 
past  the  "  lower  springs  "  of  Jordan,  through  a  well-wooded, 
park-like  country,  rich  in  varied  beauty,  forward  to  Caesarea 
Philippi,  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  north  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 

*  Keim,  iv.  256. 

»  Or  Dalmanutha  may  be  the  present  ruin  of  Ed  Delemiyeh,  one  mila 
north  of  Jarmak(Dr.  Thomson),  and  Magadan,  Megidon  (Ewald). 


124  JESUS   CHRIST. 

It  was  another  devotional  epoch  rather  than  a  missionary  tour. 
It  was  a  time  of  spiritual  retreat.  The  sign  refused  to  unbelief 
and  hardness  of  heart  was  to  be  given  to  the  faithful.  The 
rapture  of  conscious  Divine  communion  was  to  forearm  Jesus, 
as  if  with  a  second  baptismal  unction,  for  the  last  and  worst 
agonies  of  labour  and  suffering,  and  those  who  would  be  with 
Him  in  His  temptations  and  drink  of  His  cup. 

On  the  way  thither  (Mark  viii.  27)  Christ  drew  from  Peter, 
the  spokesman,  the  great  confession,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God."  The  rocky  base  of  the  great  castle 
frowning  ahead  may  have  supplied  the  material  colouring,  or 
pointed  the  meaning,  of  the  responsive  promise  of  the  Messiah, 
"  Upon  this  rock  I  will  build  My  Church  "  (Matt.  xvi.  18). 

As  Moses  had  hailed  God  in  his  triumphant  Nunc  Dimitth 
again  and  again  as  the  Rock — 

"  The  Rock,  His  work  is  perfect, — 
Then  he  forsook  God  which  made  him, 
And  lightly  esteemed  the  Rock  of  his  salvation  ;— 
Of  the  Reck  that  begat  thee  thou  art  unmindful, 
And  hast  forgotten  God  that  gave  thee  birth  " — 

(Deut.  x.xxii.  4,  15,  18) 

and  so  on  (verses  30,  31,  37),  and  Hannah  in  her  Magnificat — 

"  Neither  is  there  any  rock  like  our  God  "  (i  Sam.  ii.  2) — 

SO  did  Christ  identify  Himself  with  the  Rock  of  Moses  and 
Israel's  salvation.  Upon  His  Messianic  Divine  Nature,  i.e., 
upon  Himself,  would  His  Church  be  built  (Heb.  xii.  28),  "a 
kingdom  that  cannot  be  shaken  "  as  He  afterwards  told  them 
in  the  words  of  the  Messianic  Psalm.  He  was  the  chief  corner- 
stone of  the  real,  true  Temple  (Psa.  cxviii.  22).  That  His 
hearers  understood  Him  in  this  sense  then  and  thereafter  is 
manifest  from  the  use  made  by  St.  Peter  himself  of  the  word 
and  its  underlying  thought,  conceiving  Him  "  as  a  living,  life- 
giving  stone,  and  a  stone  of  stumbling,"  and  a  rock  of  offence  ; 
and  the  Fathers  who  have  regarded  the  Petrine  faith  as  the  rock 
may  be  followed  if  we  regard  the  same  subjectively.  Faith  in 
Christ  is  the  inward  heart  foundation  upon  which  the  whole 
life-confession  of  the  Church  and  the  Christian  reposes.  This 
is,  then,  one   of  the  many  places  where  Christ  peremptorily 


THE   JjIVlNli   TRANSFIGURATION.  I25 

required  immediate  and  prospective  faith  in  Himself  as  a 
spiritual  necessity  ;  and  upon  this  occasion,  in  surroundings 
specially  heathen,  where  the  temples  of  Greek,  Roman,  and 
Syrian  deities  uprose  like  outlying  fortresses  of  error  marked 
out  for  destruction. 

Far  from  Zion,  the  city  of  God,  far  from  the  potentates  and 
lords  and  teachers  of  Israel,  did  Messiah  receive  His  due 
homage.  Here  another  latent  prophecy  of  the  incoming  of 
the  Gentiles  and  the  Epiphany  of  the  sign  from  heaven  to 
those  whom  the  stars  of  righteousness,  godly  fear,  and  peniten- 
tial desire  were,  and  are,  leading  to  the  Light. 

And  now  they  had  come  to  Caesarea,  or  its  immediate  proxi- 
mity. At  the  south-west  foot  of  Hermon  were  the  sources  of 
the  Jordan,  where  the  grotto  was  dedicated  to  Pan,  and  the 
place  and  surrounding  country  named  after  him,  Paneas  or 
Panias.  Close  by,  Herod  built  a  splendid  temple  to  Augustus  ; 
Philip  rebuilt  the  place  and  changed  its  name  to  Caesarea.  The 
place  has  retained  its  earlier  name,  and  is  now  called  Banias, 
and  is  famed  in  travellers'  descriptions  for  its  beauty  and  its 
seclusion. 

The  rest  here,  or  in  the  neighbouring  villages,  attempered 
their  minds  for  quiet  thought  undisturbed  by  controversial 
heats.  Peter's  adoring  confession  of  faith  and  the  immediate 
reward  of  promise  was  the  preface  to  the  deepening  solemnity 
of  the  Messiah's  forewarnings  of  His  suffering  and  rejection. 
These  were  no  instinctive  vaticinations,  nor  the  political  forecast 
of  a  leader  who  felt  his  cause  was  lost.  They  are  the  ex- 
plicit and  detailed  intimation  of  His  Passion,  His  Death,  and 
His  Resurrection.  The  prophecy  calls  out  the  surprised  rebuke 
of  the  leading  apostle,  whom  perhaps  the  promise  of  the  keys 
had  exalted,  and  who  was  now  humbled.  Till  the  Petrine  con- 
fession had  been  made,  Jesus  had  spared  them  some  of  the 
revelation  of  the  Cross.  Not  till  the  truth  of  His  Nature  was 
deeply  lodged  in  their  faith  did  Pie  task  it  with  so  unwelcome, 
so  novel,  and  uncontemporaneous  a  revelation  as  that  of  the 
suffering  Messiah.  Doubtless  they  took  the  truth  to  heart. 
But  we  cannot  live  in  our  highest  moments,  and  from  this  level 
they  fell  away  in  life,  as  the  temporary  desertion  at  the  Passion 
shows,  and  partly  in  faith.  Nor  did  they  rise  to  it  again  till 
the  light  and  power  of  the  Resurrection  transformed  their  con- 
ceptions of  His  Office,  and  work,  with  its  own  glory,  and  the 


126  JESUS   CHRIST. 

majesty  stood  out  before  them  in  the  kingly  splendour  of  its 
proportions,  till  with  the  Spirit  He  passed  into  them,  the  hope 
of  glory,  the  faith  of  their  faith,  the  life  of  their  life. 

Mountain  heights  have  from  time  been  chosen  as  the  scene 
of  supereminent  Divine  manifestations.  The  cliffs  of  Sinai 
heard  and  echoed  the  Ten  Words  which  were  the  crown  of  the 
older  Covenant.  Upon  Hattin  the  new  Law  was  delivered  by 
the  Prophet  of  the  New  Covenant.  Upon  one  of  the  elevations 
of  the  snowy  height  of  triple  Hermon  Christ  was  transfigured. 
From  a  mount  He  ascended.  The  solitude  of  the  lofty  moun- 
tain, the  stillness  of  the  night,  or  possibly  the  early  dawn, 
befitted  this  more  than 

"  Bridal  of  the  earth  and  sky," 

when  the  Shechinah  came  down  and  the  Voice  was  heard  out 
of  the  cloud.  It  was  the  supreme  moment  of  spiritual  elevation 
in  the  life  of  Jesus.  It  was  a  prelude  of  the  Ascension.  Jesus 
was  never  nearer  Heaven,  nor  farther  above  earth,  alike  in 
body  and  in  spirit  than  upon  this  night.  Hermon  shares  in 
Scripture  with  the  mount  of  the  first  Divine  Epiphany  the  title 
which  one  of  the  eye-witnesses  of  the  excellent  glory  applied  to 
it — "the  holy  mountain"  (Ezek.  xxviii.  14  ;  2  St.  Peter  i.  18). 

Jesus  took  with  Him  the  three  chosen  disciples.  They  who 
witnessed  and  shared  the  prayer  of  the  Garden  of  Agony, 
witnessed  and  shared  the  prayer  of  the  Mountain  of  Glory. 
The  immediate  purpose  of  this  evening  journey  was,  St.  Luke 
alone  characteristically  informs  us,  prayer.  The  snowy  dome 
of  Hermon  is  the  most  conspicuous  object  of  the  landscape 
from  almost  any  point  of  the  country.  And  now  it  rises  before 
thera — 

"  A  kingly  spirit  throned  among  the  hills,"' 

as  they  leave  Caesarea  Philippi  and  climb  its  steep  heights  and 
ridges.  How  long  the  silent  prayer  of  Jesus  had  lasted  we 
know  not.  The  heights  and  depths  of  that  incense  offering 
upon  that  midnight  mountain  altar  pass  human  thought.  Even 
devotion  pives  place  to  weariness.  It  is  a  very  true  touch  of 
nature  and  physical  infirmity  that  the  disciples  exhibit.  The 
time,  the  fatigue  of  the  climb,  the  drowsy  effects  of  the  snow, 

•  Coleridge,  to  Mount  Blanc,  chan"ing  "  Thou  "  to  "  A.'' 


THE   DIVINE   TRANSFIGURATION,  I27 

and  the  keen  mountain  air,  tell  upon  their  senses,  and  they  are 
heavy  with  sleep.  When  they  have  become  wide  awake  they 
perceive  that  a  change  had  come  over  the  Lord.  He  was 
transfigured  before  them.  His  face  shone  as  the  sun,  His 
garments  were  white  as  the  light,  such  as  no  fuller  on  earth 
could  whiten  them.  And  within  the  circle  of  glory  were  two 
human  forms,  recognized  by  their  words  or  signs  as  the  great 
Lawgiver  and  the  first  great  Prophet.  Law  and  Prophecy  in 
their  persons  rendered  homage  to  the  fulfiller  of  both,  whose 
words  should  not  pass  away.  Moses  and  Elias  had  broken,  as 
it  were,  away  from  Sheol  upon  the  wings  of  this  "light  unspeak- 
able and  full  of  glory,"  to  speak  with  Jesus  of  His  Exodus  which 
He  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem.  The  communion  of  saints 
was  for  the  time  visible.  The  word  exodus  carried  with  it  all 
the  types  and  predictions  of  Israel's  history  of  conflict  and 
deliverance  and  victory,  and  pointed  the  way  to  their  definite 
fulfilment  at  Jerusalem  in  the  second  Moses,  and  to  the  promised 
city  of  glory  beyond,  which  was  the  inheritance  of  the  spiritual 
Israel,  whose  glory  they  already  beheld  in  foretaste. 

While  they  were  still  looking  in  wonder  the  three  disciples 
were  parted  asunder  from  Jesus.  "  The  extreme  rapidity  of  the 
formation  of  cloud  on  the  summit  "  of  Hermon  has  been  noticed. 
In  a  few  minutes  a  thick  cap  forms  over  the  top  of  the  mountain, 
and  as  quickly  disperses  and  entirely  disappears.  Such  may 
have  formed  the  material  basis  of  the  cloud  of  light  which  over- 
shadowed them.  As  St.  Peter,  the  spokesman,  in  confusion 
and  fear  suggested  that  they  should  make  three  tabernacles,  or 
arbours,  from  the  boughs  of  the  trees,  for  it  was  good  to  be 
there,  in  this  heavenly  society  and  effulgence,  they  entered  into 
the  cloud.  The  simplicity  and  materiality,  so  to  speak,  of  the 
plain  Peter  are  marks  of  the  truth.  The  writer  of  a  myth  or 
fairy-tale  legend  would  never  have  invented  so  prosaic  a  state- 
ment. They  were  afraid.  The  climax  of  glory  was  reached, 
the  same  Voice  which  had  attested  the  Divinity  of  the  Messiah 
at  His  Baptism,  commanded  them  to  hear  Him,  as  the 
authentic  Prophet  of  God,  because  He  was  the  Beloved  Son  of 
God. 

To  Jesus  the  recognition  of  His  Father's  voice  must  have 
been  a  repetition  of  the  transcendant  joy  of  the  baptismal 
greeting.  Must  we  not  say  that  for  the  moment  all  else  was 
forgotten,  or  in  that  absorbed,  that — 


I2S  JESUS   CHRIST. 

•*  He  heard  not,  saw  not,  felt  not  aught  beside, 

Through  the  wide  worlds  of  pleasure  and  of  pain, 
Save  the  full  flowing  ani^  the  ample  tide 
Of  that  celestial  strain  "  ?  ' 

Must  it  not  have  been  for  His  sake  as  well  as  for  the  disciples? 
The  irresistible  outflow  of  Divine  approval  and  attestation,  the 
surpassing  benediction  of  the  Father  upon  the  Son  of  His  love? 
There  is  no  mention,  as  in  the  Baptism,  of  the  Third  Person  of 
the  Holy  Trinity.  But  the  presence  of  Moses  and  Elias  sug- 
gests far-off,  unknowable  relations  to,  and  vibrations  of  joy  to, 
the  pre-Messianic  children  of  light. 

The  Divine  Voice,  the  burden  of  joy  and  glory,  were  too 
tremendous  for  human  nature.  The  three  witnesses  fell  on  their 
faces  with  terror.  It  was  necessary  for  Jesus  to  come  near 
and  touch  them,  as  the  Angel  of  the  Covenant  touched  Daniel, 
and  set  him  upright,  before  they  could  look  up  (cf.  Jer.  i.  9  ; 
Ezek.  i.  3,  ii.  2).  And  when  they  had  lifted  up  their  eyes  the 
glory  had  passed  away  like  a  pageant,  and  they  saw  no  man 
but  Jesus  only. 

The  veracity  of  the  account  stands  or  falls  with  that  of  the  rest 
of  the  Gospels.  Its  spiritual  fitness  at  the  time,  and  importance 
in  the  drama  of  the  Christ  life,  are  better  understood  the  more 
they  are  studied  in  the  after-light  of  the  Passion,  Resurrection, 
and  Ascension.  The  Transfiguration  looks  before  and  after. 
Before  to  the  glory  of  the  Only-Begotten  of  the  Father,  before 
to  the  triumphant  confession  of  Simon  Bar  Jonah  crowned  with 
unsought  proof  (Matt.  xvi.  17)  ;  after  to  the  resumption  of  the 
same  glory  with  the  Father,  after  to  the  communion  in  glory  of 
all  the  sons  of  God. 

In  indirect  support  of  the  gospel  veracity  and  in  general 
remark  two  observations  may  be  made.  First,  that  of  all  un- 
Jewish  incidents  in  the  life  of  Jesus  this  is  the  most  un-Jewish  ; 
of  all  words  or  deeds  unexpected  of,  out  of  correspondence  with, 
and  indeed  impossible  to  a  Messiah  of  contemporary  Jewish 
conception,  this  was  up  to  this  time  the  most  remarkable.  The 
kingliest  Messiah  of  the  highest  Jewish  conception  would  never 
have  made  this  expedition  to  Cassarea,  and  tlie  promises  uttered 
upon  the  occasion.  The  revelation  of  glory  upon  the  mountain 
none  but  a  Divine  Messiah  could  have  made.     Yet,  secondly, 

*  Abp.  Trench,  "  The  Monk  and  the  Bird." 


THE   DiVlXL   lUANSl'KiUUAllON.  I39 

that  revelation  bears  on  the  face  of  it,  in  the  light  of  its  before 
and  after,  its  own  explanation.  The  Transfiguration  must  be 
viewed  in  strict  connection  with  the  preceding  confession 
They  are  chronologically  two  scenes  in  one  act,  but  spiritually 
undivided.  It  was  the  Divine  answer  to  the  divinely-inspired 
avowal  of  the  disciples,  and  the  authentication  of  Jesus'  claim 
to  be  Messiah  by  the  Divine  sign,  withheld  from  unbelief.  Eye 
hath  seen,  and  esiv  hath  heard,  not  all,  but  some  of  the  thingi 
which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  Him.  The  king- 
dom of  God  was  seen  in  power  by  three  of  those  who  had 
heard  the  King  speak  of  His  departing  to  Jerusalem,  His 
Cross,  and  His  Passion.  The  very  words  were,  so  to  speak, 
overheard  by,  or  the  teaching  knowable  to,  the  pre-Messianic 
saints,  and  formed  the  subject  of  their  talk  with  the  transfigured 
Messiah.  The  continuity  of  God's  plan  of  redemption  is 
illustrated  as  it  moves  on  from  stage  to  stage  in  the  gradual, 
timed,  localized  evolution  of  His  Divine  eternal  purpose. 

The  glory  had  passed  away.  Jesus  and  the  three  descended 
from  the  mount  of  God  to  the  valley  of  tears,  from  spiritual 
rapture  and  exaltation  to  the  broken  cries  and  discords  of  tune* 
less,  half-articulate  humanity. 

The  first  incident  jarred.  Even  the  nine  apostles  were  of  a 
faithless  generation  (Luke  ix.  41),  and  could  not  cast  the  demon 
out  of  the  lunatic  child.  The  crowd  which  had  gathered  round 
the  famous  Prophet  must  have  been  deeply  impressed  at  the 
Lord's  work  of  power  and  sympathy.  In  the  grateful  father, 
the  healed  son,  and  the  sympathetic  crowd,  undisturbed  by 
Rabbinical  cross-fires,  we  discern  the  germ  of  an  outlying 
mission  church,  to  the  very  early  existence  of  which  the  after- 
legend  of  Jesus'  statue  points. 

Without  any  record  of  the  intervening  journey  we  find  Him 
again  in  Galilee.  Very  solemnly  He  again  warns  the  disciples 
(Luke  ix.  44,  45,  and  Synoptists)  of  the  approaching  Passion 
and  Resurrection,  to  which  now  He  was  consciously  approach- 
ing, and  for  which  He  was  deliberately  preparing  them.  How 
much  they  needed  preparations  of  heart  and  bead  after-events 
disclose. 

At  Capernaum  was  made  of  St.  Peter  the  demand  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  national  Temple-contribution,  with  which  the 
public  sacrifices  were  bought  (Exod.  xxx.  13  f.  ;  2  Chron.  xxiv. 
6).    This  consisted   of  two  Attic  drachmas,  i.e.,  one  common 

10 


I30  JESUS  CHRIST. 

shekel,  or  Sanctuary  half-skekel.  The  stater  in  the  fish  yielded 
up  by  a  Providential  coincidence,  paid  in  full  for  St.  Peter  and 
for  Christ.  Jesus  pointed  out,  too,  that  He  paid  it,  not  as  an 
obligauon,  but  as  a  concession  to  misunderstanding.  The 
Prince  was  free  of  the  king's  taxes.  The  payment  should  not 
therefore  come  out  of  the  common  fund,  but  from  an  extra- 
ordinary source. 

Lessons  on  the  spirit  of  the  new  kingdom  follow  according  to 
natural  suggestions  of  circumstances.  The  lesson  of  humility 
and  simplicity  of  heart  like  that  of  the  child  set  in  their  midst. 
The  lesson  of  largeness  of  heart,  which  sinks  itself  in  the 
advance  of  the  kingdom  so  far  as  to  overlook  an  imperfect 
sanction  and  authority  when  devils  are  cast  out  and  good  works 
are  done  in  Christ's  Name  outside  the  Apostolate.  The  lesson 
of  mortification,  or  sacrifice  of  any  line  of  thought,  word,  or 
deed  which  imperilled  the  spiritual  life  and  threatened  the  ruin 
of  the  whole  nature  in  Gehenna  fire.  The  lesson  of  brotherly 
forgiveness,  which  forgets  as  well  as  forgives;  the  true  altruism, 
or  spirit  of  brotherliness,  which  does  not  efface  "  reasonable 
self-love," '  but  extends  it  to  the  other  self.  Each  of  these 
lessons  was  complete  in  itself,  and  part  of  a  whole. 

•  Bishop  Butler,  ' '  Sermons." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  ASCENSION  JOURNEY.     THE  DIVINE  MISSIONARY  IN 
PER^A. 

"  I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me, 
Let  us  go  unto  the  house  of  the  Lord." 

A  Song  of  Ascents  ;  of  David  {Psa.  cxxii.  i). 

"  And  every  thought  and  word, 
And  all  things  seen, 
And  every  passion  which  his  heart  has  stirred. 

And  every  joy  and  sorrow  which  has  been, 
And  every  step  of  hfe  his  feet  have  trod, 
Lead  by  broad  stairs  of  glory  up  to  God." 

Lewis  Morris,  "The  Food  of  Song." 

The  days  of  going  up — Peremptory  claims — The  Feast  of  Tabernacles — 
The  adulteress — The  Light  of  the  World — The  Shepherd  of  Israel — 
Pastor  fastorum — Peraean  Mission — The  seventy  missionaries — The 
Good  Samaritan — The  devout  home  scene — The  prayer  of  prayers — 
Peraean  work  resumed — The  Feast  of  Dedication — Return  to  Persea — 
Incarnate  energy — Missionary  parables — Parables  of  the  Unseen 
World. 

A  PREGNANT  phrase  of  St.  Luke's  shows  that  a  new  chapter 
(Luke  ix.  51),  and  that  the  last,  of  Jesus'  Hfe  now  opens.  The 
rest  of  His  life  constituted  the  days  of  His  receiving  up. 
From  the  height  of  that  crowning  event,  the  writer  looks  back 
upon  the  different  incidents  as  so  many  stages  linked  in  spiritual 
order  and  sequence.  The  unity  of  the  purpose  is  the  key  to 
the  whole.  The  Christ  who  said  and  did  and  suffered  what  the 
following  record  reports  is  now  in  glory.  To  that  Ascension 
glory  He  was  moving.  The  Ascended  Lord  is  the  thought 
which  fills  the  mind  of  St.   Luke  even  while  he  relates   His 


132  JESUS  CHRIST. 

earthly  ministry  ;  so  he  spoke  of  His  exodus,  not  of  His  death. 
So  St.  John's  picture  of  the  earthly  life  is  dominated  by  his 
conception  of  the  Eternal  Word  manifesting  Himself  humanly 
in  the  world  and  then  returning  to  His  glory. 

If,  as  seems  likely  from  the  Mishna,  ihe  Temple  tax  was  due 
about  the  Passover,  the  date  of  the  journeys  to  and  from 
Hermon  is  approximately  fixed,  and  followed  immediately  upon 
the  events  before  narrated.  An  interval  of  silence  occurs  in 
the  fourfold  history.  From  the  Passover  of  John  vi.  to  the 
P'east  of  Tabernacles  of  John  vii.  2,  i.e.^  from  Nisan  15  to 
Tishri  15,  was  a  period  of  half  a  year.  The  months  that 
followed  the  return  to  Galilee  after  the  Transfiguration  are 
passed  over  in  a  single  connecting  verse  (John  vii.  i).  To  go 
up  to  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  with  the  pilgrim  company  which 
His  "brethren"  joined  Jesus  refused  (John  vii.  9).  They  did 
not,  as  yet,  believe  in  Him.  Their  Messianic  conceptions  were 
of  the  purely  Jewish  order.  They  could  not  be  in  sympathy 
with  Him;  their  paths  must  lie  apart.  After  they  had  gone 
Jesus  began  His  "Ascension  "  journey  privately  (Luke  ix.  51) 
with  His  disciples,  and  by  a  different  route.  For  instead  of 
going  through  Peraea  to  avoid  schismatic  Samaria,  His  first 
intention  was  to  go  direct  by  way  of  Samaria.  The  first 
incident  on  the  journey  showed  that  the  seed  sown  in  Samaria 
had  not  ripened  sufficiently,  or  spread  widely  enough,  to  dispel 
Samaritan  hatred  ;  nor  had  the  sons  of  thunder  who  wanted  to 
bring  fire  down  from  heaven '  learnt  yet  to  apply  the  lesson  of 
forgiveness.  Further  on  a  scribe,  unique  in  his  calling,  said 
he  would  follow  the  Master.  He  Himself  bade  another.  A 
third  ofiered  Himself.  All  three  meet  with  searching  half- 
repellent  answers.  From  the  last  two  Christ  claims  a  peremp- 
tory obedience  overleaping  the  dearest  natural  ties,  such  as 
only  the  Divine  Being  and  the  Divine  cause  could  justify.  It 
was  an  application  of  the  precept,  "  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom 
of  God."  His  own  homelessness,  outward,  as  the  first  was 
reminded,  inward,  as  His  own  spirit  knew,  was  His  own  more 
than  fulfilment  in  example. 

Whether  the  mission  of  the  Seventy  took  place  before  or 

after  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  is  much  disputed.     We  put  it 

ater.     The  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  the  Harvest  Festival  of  the 

Jewish   Church,  was  the  most  popular  and  important  festival 

'  Even  as  KHiah  did— om.  R.  V.,  Tischendorf,  Hort,  Gebhardt. 


THE  ASCENSION  JOURNEY.  I33 

after  the  Captivity.  It  was  observed  in  the  month  Tishri.  It 
began  on  the  fifteenth  day,  five  days  after  the  Day  of  Atonement, 
and  lasted  eight  days.  At  Jerusalem  it  was  a  gala  time.  It  was 
to  the  autumn  pilgrims,  who  arrived  on  the  fourteenth,  like  en- 
trance into  a  sylvan  city.  Roofs  and  courtyards,  streets  and 
squares,  roads  and  gardens,  were  green  with  boughs  of  citron 
and  myrtle,  palm  and  willow.  The  booths  recalled  the  pil- 
grimage through  the  wilderness.  The  ingathering  of  fruits 
prophesied  of  the  spiritual  harvest  already  beginning. 

As  Jesus  did  not  arrive  in  Jerusalem  till  the  middle  of  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles,  He  cannot  have  been  there  for  the  Day 
of  Atonement.  St.  John  (vii.  11)  especially  intent  upon  the 
conflict  of  faith  of  which  He  was  the  centre  descril^es  the 
questioning  and  murmuring  among  the  different  knots  of  Jews, 
Jerusalemite  or  Galilean.  Feeling  was  divided,  but  those  who 
were  well  disposed  towards  Him  knew  too  well  the  mind  of  the 
hierarchy  to  express  openly  their  sentiments.  While  men 
speculated  and  questioned,  Jesus  came  up  Himself  in  the 
middle  of  the  feast,  and  resumed  His  teaching  in  the  Temple. 
The  oft-repeated  question  "  How,"  takes  another  form.  How 
knoweth  this  man  letters,  having  never  learned  in  any  recog- 
nized school  of  thought.?  The  answer  is  a  plain,  unevasive 
appeal  to  first  principles.  His  teaching  was  derivative,  not 
humanly,  but  divinely,  and  assigned  the  highest  place  in  ap- 
praising spiritual  evidence  to  the  will  honestly  bent  upon  doing 
God's  will.  His  doctrine  was  knowable  to  doer,  not  dreamer. 
Up  to  this  point  the  argument  is  universal  in  scope,  and  ap- 
peals broadly  to  mankind.  It  is  spiritual,  superhistorical.  It 
then  takes  a  Jewish  turn — an  arguinentuin  ad  ho>mnem—VLn 
appeal  to  Moses.  Which  showed  the  true  Mosaic  spirit,  those 
who  broke  the  Law  they  professed,  those  who  sought  to  kill,  or 
He  who  wrought  a  greater  work  of  healing  and  mercy  than  the 
circumcision  which  was  permissible  on  the  Sabbath  day  1  The 
dilemma  was  a  personal  one.  It  was  the  alternative  of  the 
Messianic,  or  the  anti-Messianic  party,  the  invariable,  the  final 
alternative  set  before  the  Jews. 

The  bold  stand  made  by  Christ  was  the  next  object  of  re- 
mark (vii.  25).  There  was  no  shade  of  concession  on  His  part, 
no  pretension  to  a  compromise  with  the  dominant  party.  The 
scabbard  had  been  thrown  away.  An  ineffectual  order  for  His 
arrest  followed. 


134  JESUS   CHRIST. 

The  last,  or  great  day,  of  the  feast  came,  the  seventh,  "  the 
j^reat  Hosannah"  (John  vii.  37).  When  the  voice  of  ^esus  rang 
loudly  through  the  Temple,  "  If  any  man  thirst  let  him  come 
and  drink."  This  must  have  been  after  the  symbolic  pouring, 
at  the  Altar  of  Burnt  Offering,  of  the  water  solemnly  brought 
from  Siloam,  with  its  thanksgiving  choral  song,  the  great 
Hallel  (Psa.  cxiii.-cxviii.).  It  was  the  Divine  answer  to  the 
supplication  of  the  ingathered  thousands  of  far-scattered  Israel, 
"  with  pahns  in  their  hands."  Another  ferment  breaks  out. 
The  crowds  are  convulsed  with  a  rush  of  conflicting  movements 
of  thought  and  feeling.  Is,  or  is  not,  this  the  Christ  ?  The  fal- 
tering Nicodemus  was  a  type  of  those  who  would  give  Him 
fair  play,  but  were  slow  in  forming  their  convictions,  and  timid 
in  acting  upon  them.  Many  believed  in  Him  (John  vii.  31  and 
viii.  31),  and  were  at  various  stations  on  the  road  towards  the 
light,  others  waxed  in  unbelief  and  hostility.  The  line  ot 
division  became  more  marked.  Several  futile  attempts  were 
made  to  seize  Him.  The  Temple  officers  themselves  confessed 
to  the  hierarchial  party,  "  Never  man  spake  like  this  Man." 

The  episode  of  the  woman  taken  in  adultery  is  no  part  of  St. 
John's  original  gospel  (John  vii.  53).  All  internal  and  external 
evidence  is  against  it.  The  moral  evidence  is  admittedly  for 
it.  It  is  just  one  of  those  anecdotes  which  would  be  remem- 
bered and  handed  down.  That  some  incident  took  place  of 
the  kind  may  well  be  supposed.  But  the  time  of  it  is  quite 
uncertain,  and  the  details  appear  to  be  un-Jewish  and  inaccurate. 
It  may  have  crept  into  the  fourth  Gospel  from  a  lost  work  of 
Papias  of  Hierapolis,  who  collected  various  discourses  of  our 
Lord,  with  comments,  gathering  them  from  the  reports  of 
primitive  disciples. 

Probably  on  the  next  day,  or  Octave,  Jesus  spake  in  the 
Treasury,  within  the  Court  of  the  Women.  Another  of  the 
festal  rites  supplied  Him  with  a  text.  The  nightly  illumination 
of  that  court  symbolized  Him  who  was  the  Light  of  the  world. 
The  light  was  a  Messianic  title,  and  would  have  been  Mes- 
sianically  understood,  as  in  the  vesper  hymn  of  the  aged  Simeon. 
Both  this  and  the  following  discourse,  reported  in  a  summary 
by  St.  John,  travel  along,  yet  infinitely  above  and  beyond, 
Jewish  modes  of  thought  and  argument,  but  utter  eternal  truth. 
His  own  claim  was  self-evidential  of  Divine.  That  truth  could 
only  be  appropriated  spiritually.    Truth  carried  with  it  freedom. 


THE  ASCENSION  JOURNEY.  I35 

The  children  of  Abraham  were  those  who  shared  his  faith.  Abra- 
ham himself  had  spiritual  sympathy  with  Him.  Christ  here 
strikes  out  the  great  doctrine  developed  by  St.  Paul.  They  must 
be  taught  of  God.  Christ's  words  became  more  and  more  deci- 
sive, and  the  dilemma  before  His  adversaries  increasingly  pe- 
remptory. He  ended  with  the  assertion  of  His  eternal  existence 
(John  viii.  58).  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am.  It  was  brought 
out  by  the  stress  of  controversy,  like  all  great  truths.  It  set  the 
issue  straight  before  all.  They  answered  with  stones.  But  He 
was  not  to  die  like  St.  Stephen,  and  hid  Himself  and  withdrew. 

If,  as  seems  likely,'  vSt.  John's  narrative  is  bere  strictly  con- 
tinous,  the  healing  of  the  blind  man  took  place  on  the  next 
day  (ix.  i).  The  connection  of  doing  and  teacliing,^  as  ever, 
and  the  correlation  of  thought  between  moral  and  physical 
blindness  and  enlightening,  necessitate  the  inference  as  to 
chronological  connection.  'And  the  Sabbath  sheltered  Him 
from  renewed  violence.  The  miracle  took  place  probably  at 
the  entrance  ^  to  the  Temple.  Again  St.  John,  as  so  often,'' 
fixes  our  attention  on  the  mental  and  spiritual  forces  at  work. 
Again  he  dwells  minutely  on  the  history  of  an  individual.  It  is 
the  inward  scenery  of  the  moral  life  as  every  soul  passed  across 
the  penetrating  Light,  and  revealed  itself  to  which  he  is  sensi- 
tive. His  intense  moral  realism  is  the  secret  of  the  vividness  of 
the  dialogue.  The  whole  scene  is  not  a  triumph  of  artistic 
imagination,  but  the  vivid  expression  of  what  he  saw  and 
remembered,  outward  and  inward.  The  eye-  and  ear-witness 
records,  whose  eye  and  ear  have  been  opened.  Were  not  this 
the  explanation,  St.  John  must  be  placed  at  the  head  of  all 
dramatic  artists.  Christ  was  the  Master  light  of  all  his  seeing  ; 
in  that  Light  he  saw  the  light,  the  Light  Himself  and  that  on 
which  He  shone,  and,  by  shining  upon,  made  transparent. 
But  upon  the  enemies  of  the  Light  the  darkness  was  now  sinking. 

St.  John's  tenth  chapter  contains  our  Lord's  address  to  the 
shepherds  of  Israel,^  and  the  flock  which  had  become  a  prey  to 
them.  There  is  nothing  arbitrary  in  the  choice  of  the  figure  of 
the  shepherd.     He  identifies  Himself  with  God  the  Shepherd 

*  Reading  Sk  in  John  x.  22  with  R.V.,  Gebhardt,  Tischendorf,  &c.,  i; 
Tore  be  read  with  Westcott  and  Hort,  then  Dr.  Westcott's  inference  may  be 
correct,  that  John  ix.  i-x.  21  all  belong  to  the  Feast  of  Dedication. 

'  Cf.  Acts  i.  I.         3  Cf.  Ibid,  iii.?,  *  Cf,  vii.  43  ;  viii.  30  ;  x.  19,  &c- 

s  Cf.  all  Ezek.  xxxiv. 


136  JESUS   CHRIST. 

of  Israel  in  the  past  ; '  and  promises  the  universal  extension  of 
His  one  flock.  So  with  the  flock  He  identities  Himself  else- 
where as  the  Lamb  of  God.  He  knows  the  Shepherd  will  die 
for  the  sheep  ;  but  His  death  is  a  voluntary  self-surrender,  and 
He  will  take  His  life  back  ajjain.  Such  teaching  must  have 
prepared  the  apostles  for  their  own  work  of  shepherding. 
Again,  the  continuity  of  God's  purpose  reveals  itself.  He  had 
been,  and  is,  the  One  True  Shepherd  all  along,  the  Pastor 
pastortim.  His  under-shepherds,  His  flock,  belong  to  Him 
only,  and  by  their  character  and  work  set  forth  the  pastoral 
aspect  of  God's  character,  revealed  fully  in  Christ.  Under  the 
figures  of  Shepherd  and  Lamb,  combining  both  lines  of  thought, 
we  have  the  full  expression  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ's  media- 
tion. And  the  figure  of  the  Shepherd  would  remind  the  more 
cultivated  of  Enoch's  pre-Messianic  vision  of  God  as  the  "  Lord 
of  the  sheep,"  calling  seventy  shepherds  and  commiiling  to  them 
the  punishment  of  the  sheep.  The  recognition  of  other  sheep 
not  of  the  Jewish  fold  was  a  very  un-Je\vish  statement.  Such  an 
implied  prophecy  revealed  His  pastoral  love  and  yearning 
sympathy  over  the  unshepherded  flocks  of  universal  humanity, 
for  whom  He  laid  down  His  shepherd  life.  And  the  prophecy 
speaks  of  His  personal  bringing  them,  and  the  becoming,  how 
slowly,  how  gradually.  He  knows,  one  flock  under  One  Shep- 
herd. Such  words  must  have  been  one  of  the  inspirations  of 
the  first  apostolic  missionaries,  as  they  have  been  of  the  latest. 
"  He  loved  all  men  alike,  and  he  never  despised  any  one,"  v/ere 
the  words  of  the  Melanesian  boy  over  the  body  of  Bishop  Pat- 
teson,  lying  with  its  five  wounds  before  him.  So  after  the 
death  of  the  Rev.  Philip  S.  Smith,  of  the  Oxford  Mission  to 
Calcutta,  at  a  meeting  held  a  few  days  after  that  event  had 
brought  mourning  to  many  non- Christians,  Mr.  Protap  Chunder 
Mozoomdar,  a  leader  in  the  Brahmo  Samaj  since  the  death  of 
Keshub  Chunder  Sen,  spoke  of  him  as  follows  :  "  Truly  did 
the  Rev.  Philip  Smith  imitate  the  glorious  Ideal  by  whose  name 
he  was  known,  by  living  in  this  country  a  life  deep  and  pro- 
found. What  shall  we  say  of  his  life  ?  It  was  so  gentle,  so 
good  that  his  features  have  painted  themselves  upon  our  mental 
vision  for  all  time.  Manhood  and  womanhood,  tenderness  and 
strength,  blended  in  his  sweet  character.     I,  thinking  of  him, 

»  Psa.  Ixxx.  I,  xxiii.  i  ;  Ezek.  xxxvii.  24  ;  Zech.  x.  3. 


THE   DIVINE   MISSIONARY    IN    PER.'KA.  I37 

am  reminded  of  some  mediaeval  saint,  overflowing  with  kindness 
to  bird,  and  beast,  and  man."  * 

Such  overflowing  love  to  peoples  of  strange  heart  and  tongue 
and  colour  has  been  the  uniform  characteristic  of  those  who  have 
carried  on  the  Messianic  tradition  of  love  beyond  the  bounds  of 
national  creeds  and  the  home  centres  of  the  faith. 

Love  was  the  inspiring  motive  of  the  Incarnation,  of  the 
Atonement.  Love  is  the  central  fire  of  the  sacrificial  energies 
of  the  Christ-bearers.  The  passion  to  spread  the  kingdom  of 
love  is  the  master  passion  in  the  hierarchy  of  noble  ambitions. 
The  love  of  the  Chief  Shepherd  propagates  and  repeats  itself 
in  thousands  of  hearts,  and  wings  flights  upon  flights  of  prayer. 

"  The  world  is  used  to  have  its  business  done 
On  other  grounds,  find  great  effects  produced 
For  power's  salce,  fame's  sake,  motives  in  men's  mouth. 
Truth  is  the  strong  thing.     Let  man's  hfe  be  true  ! 
And  love's  the  truth  of  mine."  ' 

The  view  taken  of  St.  Luke  ix.  51  negatives  the  opinion  of 
some  that  Christ  now  returned  to  Galilee.  Of  Galilee  He  had 
taken  farewell.  Nor  is  it  likely  that  He  can  have  remained 
tranquilly  working  in  Judaea  after  so  determined  a  declaration 
of  hostility.  And  the  woe  upon  Chorazin  and  Bethsaida  loses 
its  point  away  from  their  neighbourhood.  We  agree  then  with 
those  who  place  his  Perasan  ministry  here  lasting  with  the  break 
of  the  Feast  of  the  Dedication  about  six  months.  Some  place 
the  mission  of  the  Seventy  ^  on  the  journey  to  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles.  But  there  seems  more  time  for  it  now,  and  as  a 
missionary  campaign  of  ingathering  it  fitly  follows  on  that 
festival.  We  are  wholly  without  geographical  details  in  St. 
Luke's  account.  His  bias  is  towards  missionary  history  and 
spiritual  expansion.  The  personal  colouring  shows  itself  here. 
For  the  writer  was  an  evangelist  and  a  fellow-worker  with  St. 
Paul.  Just  those  details  of  Christ's  discourse  or  work  which 
he  had  laid  under  contribution  in  his  own  labours  w-ould  natu- 
rally collect  in  his  memory,  or  in  his  notes  and  manuscripts. 
This   will   account   for  the   universality,  the   humanity   of  his 

«  Oxford  Mission  to  Calcutta  Report,  June,  1888  ;  compare  Sir  W. 
Hunter  in  T/te  Niiieteenik  Century,  July,  1888,  in  reference  to  "  the  young 
Oxford  ascetic.'' 

"  R.  Browning,   "  In  a  Balcony."  3  With  Tischendorf,  &c. 


138  JESUS   CHRIST. 

Gospel,  for  its  Pauline  character,  its  especial  attention  to  the 
home  and  foreiu;n  missions  of  Christ.  His  is  the  Gospel  of 
the  Good  Samaritan,  of  the  Prodigal  Son. 

The  mission  of  the  Seventy  was  a  new  departure,  both  in  the 
constructive  organization  and  in  the  outward  expansion  of  the 
kingdom.  They  were  sent  in  pairs.  This  society  and  fellow- 
ship provided  for  spiritual  sympathy  and  co-operation,  for 
practical  efficiency,  and  also  formed  a  knot  of  so-to-speak 
churches,  where  two  were  gathered  together  into  a  nidus  or 
centre,  and  the  whole  co-ordinated  under  the  Supreme  Mission- 
ary. The  occasion  was  temporary.  The  underlying  principles 
were  permanent,  and  are  specially  suggestive  of  the  importance 
of  sending  out  missionaries,  two  by  two,  or  in  brotherhoods  and 
societies.  The  concise  practical  directions  given  to  the  evan- 
gelists show  that  the  Christ,  as  Administrator,  did  not  despise 
attending  to  minor  details  of  order  and  method.  Economy  of 
time,  of  equipment,  and  healing  of  the  sick  were  especially 
insisted  on. 

The  number  seventy  was  not  a  statistical  accident.  It  was 
a  sacred  number,  and  bore  the  dignity  of  honourable  and  his- 
toric precedents.  Moses  had  organized  seventy  elders.  The 
Sanhedrin,  when  instituted  or  reorganized,  numbered  seventy. 
The  number  seven  again  and  again  recurs  in  the  cycle  of 
Jewish  religious  observances. 

The  Mission  was  successful.  The  Seventy  returned  with  joy, 
and  reported  that  even  the  demons  were  subject  to  them  in  His 
Name.  Jesus  had  identified  Himself  with  His  workers  in  the 
impressive  words,  "  He  that  heareth  you  heareth  Me,  and  he 
that  rejecteth  you  rcjecteth  Me,"  implying  thereby  their  plenary 
authority  and  representative  commission.  Now  after  the 
declaration  of  Satan's  fall  from  heaven,  as  if  He  belield  behind 
the  visible  scene  the  prehistoric  downfall  of  the  Evil  Spirit 
repeating  itself  in  spiritual  dethronements,  He  renews,  and 
confirms,  and  extends  their  delegated  authority  over  all  the 
power  of  the  enemy.  And  more  than  the  disciples  their 
Master  in  that  same  hour  rejoiced  (according  to  the  right, 
newly  recovered,  and  most  remarkable  reading,  Luke  x.  21, 
R.  V.)  "in  the  Holy  Spirit."  Were  not  such  hours  when  He 
saw  of  the  travail  of  His  soul  and  was  satisfied  but  few.'' 

At  this  time  the  question  of  the  lawyer  elicited  the  parable  of 
the  Good  Samaritan.     Some  episode  in  the  lawyer's  own  life, 


THE   DIVINE   MISSIONARY  IN   PER^EA.  I39 

or  some  well-known  incident  of  the  day,  may  have  formed  the 
basis  of  the  story.  It  was  entirely  un-Jewish  ;  just  as  now  it 
would  be  un-Mahommedan,  for  a  Mahommedan  Sunni  would 
leave  a  Mahommedan  Persian  Sbi'ah  to  perish  unheeded  on  the 
roadside.'  It  taught  the  spirit  of  brotherhood  of  which  He 
gave  so  many  examples.  Perhaps  some  of  the  Seventy  were 
Samaritans.  Tiie  parable  is,  as  it  were,  the  foundation-stone 
of  all  Christian  hospitals,  and  the  equalization  in  treatment  of 
all  sects  and  faiths  within  the  walls  where  Christian  doctor.s 
and  nurses  often  exemplify  the  power  of  His  faith  and 
fraternity. 

The  visit  to  the  home  of  Mary  and  Martha  at  Bethany  may 
have  been  just  before,  or  just  after  the  feast.  Its  interest  lies 
in  its  revelation  of  the  Lord  in  the  retirement  of  home  life,  and 
in  His  intercourse  with  women.  The  anecdote  of  Mary  and 
Martha  is  inserted  by  St.  Luke  for  some  purpose  other  than 
biographical.  Mary  and  Martha  are  representatives  of  two 
orders  of  human  character.^  One  was  absorbed,  preoccupied, 
distracted  ;  the  other  was  concentrated  and  single-hearted. 
Her  own  world  was  the  all  of  Martha  ;  Christ  was  the  first 
thought  with  Mary.  They  did  not  necessarily  represent  the 
laborious  and  the  contemplative  types  of  life.  The  former  was 
divided  ;  the  latter,  one.  To  Martha  life  was  "  a  succession  of 
particular  businesses  ";  to  Mary  life  "was  rather  the  flow  of  one 
spirit."  3  Martha  was  Petrine,  Mary  was  Johannine.  St.  Luke 
gives  us  a  moral  as  well  as  a  domestic  interior.  The  one  was 
a  well-meaning,  bustling  busybody  ;  the  other  was  a  reverent 
disciple,  a  wistful  listener.*  Did  not  the  first  miss  the  Divmity 
of  the  guest,  and  the  other  go  far  towards  recognition  and 
worship?  As  a  rare  glimpse  of  family  life  in  the  Gospels,  and 
Christ's  presence  in  the  home  we  gladly  dwell  upon  it.  We 
shall  hardly  do  wrong  to  notice  a  certain  touch  of  humour  in 
the  Lord's  reproof  of  the  "  distracted  "  mistress  of  the  house- 
hold. St.  Paul  had  such  a  picture  in  his  mind  when  he  spoke 
of  attending  upon  the  Lord  "without  distraction"  (i  Cor.  vii.  38). 

'  Sir  F.  Goldsmid  gives  an  example  in  his  own  experience  at  a  '1  urkish 
caravansera  near  Baghdad,  "  On  Islam,"  Miision  Field,  May,  1888. 

*  Cf.  J.  Martineau,  "  Hours  of  Thought,"  p.  59.  3  Ibid. 

4  Cf.  "  Pirke  Aboth."  4  ;  Taylor,  "  Let  thy  house  be  a  meeting-house  for 
the  wise  ;  and  powder  thyself  in  the  dust  of  their  feet  ;  and  drink  their 
words  with  thirstiness." 


I40  JESUS  CHRIST, 

By  the  law  of  association  of  ideas  it  is  likely  that  the  prayer 
of  the  disciples  (Luke  xi.  i)  to  be  taught  to  pray,  took  place  in 
some  spot  where  John,  like  any  other  Rabbi,  had  taught  his 
disciples  a  form  of  prayer,  or  where  our  Lord  Himself  had  been 
seen,  or  heard,  offering  the  calves  of  the  lips.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  Lord's  prayer  was  based  upon  pre-existent 
Jewish  prayers.  But  there  was  transformation  as  well  as  con- 
servation. In  the  first  place,  no  orthodox  Israelite  could  have 
sincerely  prayed  "  Forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive  them 
that  trespass  against  us,"  any  more  than  an  orthodox  modern 
Mahommedan.  In  the  second  place,  Christ  laid  down  no  rules 
as  to  posture  and  ceremony.  The  prayer  was  internal — without 
implying  or  excusing  irreverence.  The  Rabbinical  prayers 
were  too  often  external.  "  This  appears  from  the  Talmudic 
tractate  specially  devoted  to  that  subject  (Berakhoth),  where 
the  exact  position,  the  degree  of  inclination,  and  other  triviali- 
ties, never  referred  to  by  Christ,  are  dwelt  upon  at  length  as  of 
primary  importance."  '  The  universality  of  its  content,  "  Our 
Father,"  was  also  as  un-Ral)binical  as  un-Mahommedan,  and 
another  indication  of  the  fraternity  and  interdependence  of  the 
members  of  the  kingdom  one  with  another.  The  clause,  "  Thy 
kingdom  come,"  may  have  been  a  devotional  creation  of  the 
Baptist,  and  adopted  by  Jesus.  "  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as 
it  is  in  heaven,"  could  only  have  been  born  of  a  mind  con- 
versant with  heaven  and  earth.  "  Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread,"  was  a  practical  confession  of  faith  in  the  minute  pro- 
vidential superintendence  of  the  bodily  needs  of  those  who 
sought  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness. 
"  Deliver  us  from  the  Evil  One," ''  had  special  point  in  times 
and  seasons  of  conscious  warfare  with  the  ubiquitous  works  of 
the  devil,  and  in  relation  to  thanksgivings  such  as  "  I  beheld 
Satan  as  lightning  fall  from  heaven,"  and  prayers  such  as  that  of 
the  Great  Intercession.  The  personality  of  the  Evil  One  comes 
into  very  distinct  view  in  the  New  Testament.  He  had  been  a 
figure  in  the  background  under  the  Old  Covenant  revelations. 
But  when  the  intense  light  of  the  gospel  was  shed  with 
increasing  power  on  things  unseen  and  seen,  the  figure,  the 
cliaracter,  the  work  of  Satan  emerged  more  and  more  clearly. 

'  Edersheim,  i.  536. 

■  For  this  rendering  see  the  Bishop  of  Durham's  (to  the  writer's  mind) 
conclusive  essav 


THE  DIVINE   MISSIONARY   IN   PERJEA.  I4I 

The  work  of  Christ  as  a  personal  antagonism,  past,  present, 
future,  and  as  a  chronic  victory  over  a  personal  enemy,  can  only 
be  fully  understood  by  reading  it  in  the  light  of  His  own 
prayer,  His  own  words,  and  in  those  of  the  men  whom  He 
taught.  He  knew  He  was  contending  not  with  ih&vis  zneriice  of 
evil,  with  mechanical  masses  of  death  and  corruption,  but  with 
a  superhuman  personal  will  and  intellect  at  the  head  and  front 
of  others  like  him,  many  as  those  who  fell  from  heaven  like 
stars. 

The  Pera^an  ministry  was  not  rich  in  noticeable  incident. 
Christ's  teaching  was  public  and  open.  The  masses  flocked  to 
Him.  The  words  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah  (xv.  10),  "  Woe  is  me, 
my  mother,  that  thou  hast  born  me  a  man  of  strife  and  a  man  of 
contention  to  the  whole  earth,"  describe  the  tone  and  spirit 
which  pervade  His  teaching  in  the  face  of  Pharisaic  opposi- 
tion. The  necessities  of  spiritual  polemics  drove  Him  into 
open  denunciation  of  those  whose  spiritual  disestablishment 
was  necessary  in  the  interests  of  their  own  souls,  and  of 
those  who  looked  up  to  them.  Even  at  the  friendly  meal,  out  of 
season  as  well  as  in  season,  the  Pharisaic  host  must  be  taught 
to  unlearn  his  externalism,  if  he  would  be  a  child  of  the  pro- 
phets and  not  of  their  murderers. 

A  prophetic  outlook  underlies  His  teaching  to  the  disciples. 
With  regard  to  the  nation  his  call  to  repentance  becomes  more 
and  more  accentuated  ;  with  regard  to  the  disciples,  more  and 
more  illuminative.  The  burden  of  coming  events  seems  to 
weigh  every  word.  The  night  was  coming  when  no  man  could 
work. 

Our  Lord's  warnings  became  increasingly  severe.  His 
invective  breathes  the  thunder  of  the  prophets,  and  predicts  the 
wrath  of  the  Lamb.  Mighty  works  and  deeds,  of  which  the 
former  are  selected  rather  than  the  latter  by  St.  Luke,  lose 
evidential  force  for,  and  judiciously  harden,  hearts  encrusted 
with  guilt  and  blackened  with  hatred.  The  climax  of  warning 
sin  the  against  Holy  Ghost  (Luke  xii.  10),  in  the  face  of  myriads  of 
was  reached  in  the  declaration  of  the  unpardonableness  of  the 
the  multitude,  so  closely  packed  that  they  trod  on  one  another 
(Luke  xii.  i),  and  emphasized  by  the  preceding  tenderness  of  the 
context  which  spake  of  the  unforgotten  sparrows,  and  the  hairs 
of  the  head  all  numbered. 

This    Peraean    ministry    was    interrupted    by   the    Feast    of 


142  JESUS  CHRIST. 

Dedication  (John  x.  22).  Christ  was  not  afraid  to  face  His 
enemies  again  in  the  heart  of  a  hostile  territory.  The 
feast  was  not  one  of  Divine,  but  of  national  institution.  After 
the  desecration  of  the  Temple  by  Antiochus  Epipbanes,  Judas 
Maccab^eus  had  dedicated  the  altar  "  with  song^s,  and 
citherns,  and  harps,  and  cymbals"  (i  Mace.  iv.  54).  The  spirit 
of  patriotism,  the  wish  to  render  honour  to  national  feeling  and 
civil  authority,  animated  the  Ideal  Son  of  Abraham.  Both  as 
Messiah  Prince  demanding  the  allegiance  of  Israel,  as  Son  of 
God  always  and  everywhere  declaring  His  Father's  glory,  and 
as  Child  of  Israel,  He  would  discharge  the  duty  of  an  Israelite 
indeed,  and  show  His  fellowship  with  His  people.  Under  the 
last  aspect  we  have  the  consecration  of  patriotism.  Upon  the 
altar  of  the  Divine  heart  that  flame  burned  brightly.  Christ 
accepted  His  place  in  the  organism  of  the  State,  and  discharged 
His  civil  obligations  with  the  fullest  recognition  of  the  Divinity 
of  their  claims.  When  Judas  "decked  the  forefront  of  the 
Temple  with  crowns  of  gold  and  with  shields''  (i  Mace.  iv.  57), 
he  was  champion  alike  of  Church  and  State,  and  in  both 
characters  a  vicegerent  of  God. 

Not  till  the  Temple  of  Christ's  Body  had  been  restored  and 
reconsecrated  by  the  Resurrection,  after  the  desecrating  violence 
and  profane  destruction  at  the  hands  of  the  wicked,  did  the 
figurative  prophecy  of  the  Maccabean  restoration  come  to 
a  fulfilment.  The  festival  probably  took  place  at  the  Christian 
Christmastide,  but  the  twenty-fifth  of  Chislev  that  year, 
according  to  some,  fell  earlier  in  December.  The  wintry 
season  is  especially  noted  by  St.  John,  and  accounts  for  Christ's 
walking  under  the  shelter  of  Solomon's  Porch. 

The  teaching  contained  no  new  elements,  but  re-emphasized 
and  reiterated  old  truths.  The  consistency  of  Christ's  claim 
through  evil  report,  and  through  good  report,  with  opposition 
or  without  it,  the  steadiness  of  His  front,  and  the  calm  decided 
insistence  of  assured  conviction,  must  have  deepened  the 
favourable  impression  of  honest  inquirers  wavering  towards  the 
light.  Here  was  One  who  never  quailed,  who  never  abated, 
who  never  lost  dignity  nor  temper,  whose  looks  and  mien 
towards  high  or  low  breathed  tenderness,  sincerity,  holy 
force,  whom  no  one  could  detect  in  any  weakness,  compromise, 
or  concession,  whose  words  of  grace  and  truth  seconded 
works  of  power  and  love.     Character  is  a  potent  force,  often 


THE  DIVINE   MISSIONARY   IN   PER^EA.  I43 

when  and  where  least  acknowledged,  or  openly  decried.  The 
character  of  Christ  must  have  made  itself  felt  with  increasing 
clearness,  and  farther  range  of  influence,  as  He  became  more  and 
more  a  public  Man  and  the  great  question  of  the  day,  in  Temple 
Court,  in  crowded  street,  in  upper  chamber  gatherings,  and  in 
the  private  musings  and  heart-searchings  which  come  to  all  but 
the  careless  and  profane. 

The  great  point  in  His  statement  He  presses  again  and  again 
— His  works.  It  is  still  the  evidence  of  the  Christian  life  which 
tells  most  among  non- Christians,  or  half-believers. 

Again  He  employs  the  familiar  fissure  of  His  sheep,  but  makes 
a  magnificent  addition,  which  implies  that  the  turning  point  had 
come  to  some  of  them,  and  the  great  decision  made — "  1  give 
unto  them  eternal  life,"'  not  I  will  give.  The  gift  is  theirs  for  a 
present  possession,  the  free,  unbought  guerdon  of  the  saving 
Giver. 

His  unequivocal  statement  of  unity  of  nature  with  the  Father 
was  understood,  and  rightly  understood,  in  the  only  sense  it 
could  bear.  It  was  a  more  categorical  statement  of  what  had 
been  implied  and  indeed  asserted  before-  Again  the  threaten- 
ing stones  were  taken  up.  Again  they  sought  to  arrest  Him, 
and  He  escaped  from  their  hands. 

The  change  to  Peraea  was  as  sudden  as  it  was  welcome.  In 
the  capital  the  more  He  loves  the  less  He  is  loved.  In  Pera^a 
He  again  reaps  where  the  Baptist  had  sown.  In  Jerusalem 
the  tide  of  hatred  is  rising  to  the  flood.  In  Pereea  "  many  believed 
on  Him"  (John  x.  42).  Wherever  He  is  His  presence  cannot 
be  "  put  by.''  His  character,  and  the  work  which  is  the  neces- 
sary outflow  of  it  into  His  social  environment,  is  strong  to  repel 
or  to  attract.  Neutrality  was  impossible.  The  question  of  the 
day,  in  public  debate,  in  private  self-examination,  was  approach- 
ing solution.  Every  other  question,  national  and  political,  social 
and  sectional,  religious  and  spiritual,  general  and  individual, 
turned  upon  this.  Eyes  and  ears  were  opening  to  this  fact 
everywhere  in  Jewry.  We  constantly  meet  evidence  of  our 
Lord's  physical  activity.  Here  in  Peraea  (Luke  xiii.  22),  as 
formerly  in  Galilee,  a  round  of  cities  and  villages  is  visited. 
Everywhere  the  new  teaching  is  heard,  and  the  same  results 
took  place  on  small  fields  which  the  scanty  records  and  the 
incidental  hints  of  the  Gospel  memoirs  depict  in  the  larger 
centres  of  population. 


144  JESUS  CHRIST. 

We  feel  again  in  the  presence  of  incarnate  earnestness  and 
energy.  The  drain  upon  the  Lord's  physical  and  spiritual  re- 
sources at  this  time  must  have  been  unceasing.  Religious  work 
is  especially  exacting.  The  flow  of  feeling,  the  pressure  of  re- 
sponsibility, the  excitement  of  aggressive  labour,  which  His 
workers  knew,  and  know,  and  which  we  see  so  luminously 
reflected  in  the  pag°s  of  the  Pauline  Epistles  in  every  phase  of 
igh  emotion,  and  breathed  in  the  thousand  diverse  harmonies 
of  the  Psalter,  must  have  been  as  real,  and  as  exhausting,  in  the 
perfect  Missionary  and  Christian  Worker,  at  least  as  in  any  of 
His  followers,  or  in  many  put  together. 

But  to  balance  the  pressure  of  over-work  there  was  the  per- 
fect trust  in  God,  the  casting  of  all  care  upon  Him,  the  rest 
under  the  shadow  of  Plis  hand.  When  He  bade  His  "little 
flock"  "fear  not,"  or  "  be  of  good  cheer,"  or  "be  not  over- 
anxious," He  spoke  straight  from  tlie  heart  of  His  own  experi- 
ence. He  revealed  therein  indirectly  the  inner  springs  of  His 
own  spiritual  strength  and  peace,  and  the  outward  demeanour 
of  the  Blessed  of  all  His  own  beatitudes  must  of  itself  have 
been  an  outward  and  visible  sign  of  inward  and  spiritual  grace 
and  light. 

The  parables  of  the  Perasan  ministry  are  transcripts  from  the 
Divine  experience.  They  all  illustrate  the  seeking  and  saving 
love  (Luke  xv.),  the  redemptive  forces  of  God,  seen  actually  and 
visibly  in  Christ's  own  life,  secondarily  and  derivatively  in  the 
hves  of  those  He  taught  and  inspired.  Tliey  harmonize  in  place 
and  time  with  the  specially  missionary  character  of  this  Pereean 
episode.  These  discourses  may  be  viewed  under  three  aspects 
— as  they  bore  upon  the  apostles,  upon  the  general  body  of  the 
disciples  and  hearers,  and  upon  the  Church  of  God.  Under 
all  aspects  they  pourtray  the  eternal  character  of  God,  as  the 
deepening  light  of  ages  has  shed  the  lustre  oi  progressive  reve- 
lation upon  it  from  glory  to  glory. 

In  reference  to  the  apostles  the  parables  had  an  educational 
value.  Christ  was  gradually  transforming  the  false  Messianic 
ideal  of  their  minds  into  the  true.  He  was  educating  their  con- 
sciences at  the  same  time  to  a  higher  level  and  an  acuter  vision. 
Their  whole  mental  horizon  had  to  be  universalized.  The  para- 
bles paved  the  way  for  the  teaching  of  St.  Stephen  as  that 
contained  in  germ  the  full  flower  of  the  Pauline  Gospel.  The 
iMessianic    message  to  all  nations,  and  the  sacredness   of  the 


THE   DIVINE    MISSIONARY   IN    PER^A.  145 

individual  in  God's  right,  the  absohite  annihilation  of  preroga- 
tive and  privilege  in  the  election  of  grace,  the  freedom  of  sal- 
vation, and  over  all  the  yearning  heart  of  God  willing  all  men 
to  be  saved  and  to  come  to  the  full  knowledge  of  the  truth — 
these  are  the  truths  which  flowed  naturally  from  these  doings 
and  sayings,  and  sunk  imperceptibly  with  fructifying  power 
iuic  the  hearts  of  the  disciples.  And  they  were  lit  up  at  every 
point  by  a  host  of  unrecorded  words,  looks,  acts,  which  even  the 
Catholic  Gospel  of  St.  Luke  has  left  for  future  resurrection  and 
the  historians  of  other  worlds. 

So  to  the  general  body  of  followers,  hearers,  inquirers,  un- 
organized as  yet,  and  unshepherded,  this  Percean  ministry  must 
have  opened  a  new  world.  All  men  need  Christ,  but  not  all 
seek  Him.  Of  those  who  seek  Him  many  seek  blindly  or  un- 
consciously. The  history  of  modern  missions  supplies  examples 
of  what  went  on  on  a  grander  scale  where  Christ  and  His 
apostles  laboured.  Much,  most,  of  the  work  had  to  be  left  for 
future  labourers.  But  an  impression  must  have  been  left,  a 
mark  greater  and  deeper  than  the  Baptist's  made  in  the  same 
region,  which  broke  ground  for  the  coming  harvests. 

With  regard  to  the  Church  of  the  ages,  it  is  needless  to  dwell 
upon  the  force  and  meaning.  Every  missionary  effort  has  drawn 
upon  the  stories  of  the  lost  sheep,  the  lost  coin,  the  lost  son,  as 
a  fund  of  inspiration  and  energy. 

"  Out  in  the  desert  He  heard  its  cry — 
Sick  and  helpless,  and  ready  to  die." 

A  pair  of  parables  follow  in  St.  Luke's  sixteenth  chapter,  which 
would  not  be  placed  there  except  for  chronological  or  spiritual 
fitness.  As  the  preceding  triad  threw  open  the  gates  of  the 
Messianic  kingdom,  so  these  close  thern.  Even  the  spiritually 
dead  might  revive,  the  lost  mightbe  found,  but  there  were  limits 
imposed  by  character,  in  this  departinent  of  the  kingdom,  and 
in  that  province  which  lay  beyond  the  grave.  The  moral  of 
the  parable  of  the  unjust  steward  was  that  all  property — 
intellectual,  spiritual,  material — is  a  trust  to  be  used  in  the 
interest  of  the  kingdom  to  come.  The  "  other-worldliness " 
with  which  George  Eliot  taxes  Christianity  might  be  a  true 
charge  if  there  were  no  moral  connection  between  the  kingdom 
that  now  is  visible  and  that  now  is  invisible.     On  the  contrary, 

II 


146  JESUS  CHRIST. 

Christ  emphasizes  the  absoluteness  of  that  connection.  Use 
this  woild  aright,  because  it  is  the  school  for  another.  Here  lay 
His  heaviest  charge  against  Pharisaism.  All  the  things  in  the 
world,  even  religion,  the  most  sacred  of  all,  ministered  to  their 
selfishness  and  personal  exaltation.  They  claimed  the  praise 
of  men  here,  and  the  praise  of  God  hereafter.  They  would  step 
grandly  from  their  popular  thrones  below  to  loftier  pedestals 
above.  They  sat  in  the  seats  of  learning  and  knowledge,  religious 
ronour,  wealth,  and  social  esteem  ;  and  every  one  of  these  trusts 
was  perverted  and  abused  to  their  own  glory  and  self-righteous- 
ness. 

The  second  parable  changes  the  scene  with  terrible  irony  to 
the  next  world.  The  conditions  of  Dives  and  Lazarus  are  ex- 
changed, but  the  characters  of  each  are  unchanged.  Dives  still 
justifies  himself,  and  under  the  cover  of  a  plea  for  his  own 
brothers,  impugns  the  righteousness  of  God  in  not  giving  him- 
self and  them  a  fair  chance.  Dives  still  regards  Lazarus  as  an 
inferior  being,  who  should  be  summoned  at  his  beck.  Dives 
still  views  his  environment  from  the  centre  of  himself  and  his 
family.  It  is  a  shallow  exegesis  which  here  discovers  moral  im- 
provement in  the  rich  man. 

"Coelum  non  animum  mutant  qui  trans  mare  currunt.'** 

Character  becomes  eternal,  independent  of  space  and  time. 

The  personal  point  of  the  parable  cannot  be  missed.  The 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees  were  warned  and  exposed.  They  were 
the  rich  men,  who  fared  sumptuously  in  the  palaces  of  religion, 
knowledge,  and  material  luxury',  and  left  the  "  accursed  "  rabble, 
Am-ha-aretz,  to  starve.  The  drama  ends  in  the  prophecy  that 
the  resurrection  would  fail  to  elicit  the  moral  obedience  of  those 
who  were  deaf  to  Moses  and  the  prophets.  The  last  words 
establish  and  re-affirm  the  moral  continuity  and  unity  of  the  Jaw 
and  character  of  God,  under  its  three  successive  stages  of  the 
Law,  the  Gospel,  and  the  kingdom  of  the  Unseen.  God  is  always 
true  to  Himself.  According  as  men  were  true  to  Him  or  untrue, 
they  fell  on  either  side.  The  Messianic  advent  was  a  pre- 
liminary judgment  and  division,  reversing  the  false  ideals  of  the 
day,  and  affirming  the  true.     The  death  of  Christ  was  the  cli« 

Hor. 


THE    DIVIXK    MI.sSIONAUV    IX    I'KU.EA.  14/ 

max  which  both  sides  were  approaching.  Viewed  as  to  their 
need  of  salvation  and  moral  culpability,  mankind  as  a  mass  were 
arrayed  in  hostility  to  Him,  and  in  varying  degrees  were  guilty 
of  that  death.  Viewed  as  confessing  or  disowning  their  guilt, 
as  accepting  or  rejecting  a  Saviour,  mankind  fell  into  two  classes 
before  the  dividing  presence  of  Christ.  In  the  long  run  man 
must  admit  his  own  sinfulness,  or  impute  it  to  God.  So  the 
Pharisees  established  their  own  righteousness,  and  imputed  to 
Christ  unrighteousness. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

GATHERING   SHADOWS. 

"  '  Mere  ren<;on  '  cannot  be  tolerated  in  religion,  even  as  it  cannot  in  the 
s.inctities  of  home.  For  religion  is  truly  the  honie-feeling  of  the  universe. 
The  Church  is  the  home.  Here  comes  feelile,  weary,  jadetl  humanity,  to 
seek  i.s  rest"  (J as.  Hinton,  "  Philosophy  and  Religion,"  p.  187). 

Tlie  res'irrection  of  Lazarus — Back  to  Peraea — Divorce  and  marriage — 
The  rights  of  woman — The  rights  of  children — Behold,  we  go  up  to 
Jerusalem  I— Jericho— Zacchasus  and  the  service  of  man — The  blind 
healed — The  pilgrims  in  debate — The  Sabbath  rest  and  unction. 

The  Percean  ministry  was  now  broken  by  an  appeal  which  could 
rot  be  set  aside.  Tidings  of  Lazarus'  dangerous  iihiess  reached 
Christ  from  some  trusted  messenger  of  his  sisters.  "  He  whom 
thou  lovest  is  sick."  The  message  was  short  and  anxious,  as  a 
sick  bulletin  and  a  virtual  prayer.  The  Lord's  answer  is  a  key 
to  the  whole  of  His  conduct.  Had  this  sickness — and  death — 
not  been  for  the  glory  of  God  we  can  hardly  have  believed  that 
Christ  would  have  placed  the  dearest  claims  of  private  friend- 
ship above  the  "bitter  cry"  of  Peraean  Messianic  need.  But 
there  is  no  real  clash  of  duties.  Duty  is  one.  The  record  of 
St.  John  has  all  the  fulness  and  picturesque  minuteness  of  the 
memory  of  the  eye-witness.  The  objections  of  the  disciples  to 
His  returning  to  Judcea  and  certain  death  by  stoning  were  the 
common-sense  objections  of  the  natural  man.  Our  Lord's  appeal 
to  the  preordained  limits  of  His  working-day  removes  the 
ground  of  duty  to  the  region  of  that  faith  which  reads  off  the 
invisible.  The  human,  the  Divine,  move  with  perfect  harmony 
in  the  mysterious  music  01  the  unity  of  the  Divine  Person  who 


GATHEUIXG    SHADOWS.  I49 

is  of  both.  Human  affection  and  sympathy  prelude  the:  out- 
burst of  Divine  power.  The  silent  tear,  the  loud  cry.  The 
word  of  Christ  was  a  discharge  of  spiritual  force,  a  supernatural 
vibration  to  the  unknown  regions  of  the  spiritual  cosmos.  It 
was  the  inner  current  of  volition,  rather  than  the  loud  wave 
of  sound,  which  was  heard  by  the  disembodied  spirit.  The 
latter  was  spoken  for  the  witnesses,  or  possibly  as  the  discharge 
of  deep  feeling,  like  that  of  the  one  grateful  leper.  Might  not 
unbelief  urge,  has  it  not  urged  that  here  was  imposture .-'  or 
credit  to  the  evangelist  the  creation  of  "a  masterpiece  of  alle- 
gorical fiction"?  The  answer  depends  upon  the  presupposi- 
tions. This  miracle  directly  declares  Christ's  independence  of 
the  laws  of  nature  and  of  human  nature  more  emphatically 
than  any  preceding  one.  It  was  the  prelude  to  the  Royal 
Resurrection.  It  was  a  great  sign  of  the  greatest  sign  of  ail  at 
hand. 

Its  credibility  externally  rests  upon  that  of  the  Fourth  Evan- 
gelist. Its  internal  credibility  is  swallowed  up  in  the  larger 
proposition  of  Christ's  own  resurrection.  The  effect  of  the 
resurrection  of  Lazarus  was  decisive  upon  many  of  the  eye- 
witnesses (John  xi.  45).  Many  of  the  Jews,  i.e.,  as  usually  in 
St.  John,  the  anti-Christian  Jewish  party,  believed  on  Him. 
But  "  some,"  contrasted  with  ''many"  must  mean  a  minority, 
carried  their  report  to  the  Pharisees.  This  miracle  more 
than  any  other  up  to  the  greater  one  it  prefaced,  is  not  only 
a  help  to  certify  Christ's  revelation,  and  itself  a  means  by 
which  in  part  it  is  made,  "  but  also  a  pledge  of  our  final  restora- 
tion and  victory  over  sin  and  disease  and  death."  '■ 

Such  a  majestic  sign  of  power  was  decisive.  Lazarus  was  a 
living  witness  who  could  not  be  gainsaid  before  friend  or  foe. 
In  the  heart  of  Jewry,  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  in  the  courts 
of  the  Temple,  could  henceforth  be  seen  and  heard  a  man  who 
had  returned  to  this  corruptible  life  in  the  flesh  at  the  bidding  of 
jHim  who  declared  Himself  the  Messiah.  Either  His  Messianic 
challenge  must  be  accepted,  or  He  must  be  finally  silenced.  At 
this  juncture  a  council  was  held  to  consider.  There  was  no 
hesitation  among  the  Sanhedrists,  no  change  of  mind.  Their 
hearts  were  too  hardened  to  listen  to  evidence.  The  one  ques- 
tion was  not,  is  He  after  all  the  Messiah  ?  but,  what  can  vve  diol 
The  one  danger,  their  personal  ruin  before  the  rising  tide  of 
'  Stantcn,  p.  17. 


150  JESUS   CHRIST. 

popular  belief,  and  in  ihs  near  distance  the  annihilation  of 
Temple,  and  city,  and  nation,  of  Church  and  State,  by  the 
Roman  power.  It  is  one  of  the  Divine  ironies  of  history  that 
the  fate  they  would  avert  by  the  sacrifice  of  principle  to  policy 
was  that  which  befell  them.  The  Romans  took  away  their  name 
and  nation,  and  destroyed  the  Temple  which  they  falsely  accused 
the  Lord  of  wishing  to  destroy.  The  wailing-place  of  the  Jews 
in  modern  Jerusalem,  viewed  in  its  past  spiritual  and  historic 
relations,  and  from  Christian  Jewish  sympathies,  is  indeed  the 
saddest  nook  in  this  vale  of  tears. 

Tidmgs  of  the  decision  of  the  council  reached  Jesus.  He  re- 
tired to  the  obscure  Ephraim,  probably  Ophrah,  of  Benjamin, 
afterwards  Epherema,  a  village  thirteen  miles  north  of  Jerusalem, 
now  Taiyibeh.  Here  He  stayed  with  His  disciples.  Such  a  rest 
may  have  been  needful  to  them  and  to  Him. 

From  Ophrah  He  could  get  by  Roman  roads  to  one  of  the 
Jordan  bridges,  and  must  have  gone,  for  once  more  He  is  in 
half-heathen  Pera:a,  at  a  safer  distance,  and  goes  as  far  as  Galilee 
(Matt.  .\ix.  i),  perhaps  to  some  rendezvous  where  He  might  join 
Galilean  pilgrims  to  the  Passover.  From  the  frontier  of  Galilee 
(Luke  xvii.  11)  He  passed  between  Galilee  and  Samaria,'  perhaps 
because  rejected  at  En-gannim  (Jenin),  the  northern  frontier  town 
of  Samaria,  into  Per<Ea.  His  previous  missionary  work  had  left  a 
deep  and  wide  impression.  Great  multitudes  again  came  round 
Him,  and  He  healed  and  taught  them  (^Lark  x.  i).  Again  we 
may  compare  His  Peraean  to  the  foreign  mission.  His  Judsean  and 
Galilean  to  the  home  work  of  the  Church. 

The  union  here,  as  usual,  perhaps  always,  of  the  ministry  of 
healing  with  the  ministry  of  teaching  suggests  the  importance 
of  combining  medical  -  with  directly  spiritual  work  in  the  mis- 
sionary operations  of  the  Church.  Modern  missions  lack  the  ex- 
traordinary g.fts  of  healing.  If  apostolic  faith  and  unity  of  heart 
be  restored  to  Christendom,  why  should  not  this  missing  weapon 
return  to  the  armoury  of  Christian  aggression  ?  Without  it,  at 
least  the  best  resources  of  medical  science  should  contribute  to 
the  holy  war.are  of  heathen  evangelization.     Some  of  the  most 

*  Sia  fitaov  as  Hort,  Tischendorf,  Gebhardt  ;  "between  "  margin  R.  V. 

'  Cf.  especially  the  decisive  utterances,  exemplified  by  their  own  experi- 
ences, of  the  Bishop  of  Rangoon,  J.  M.Strachan,  M.D.,  and  the  late  Bishop 
of  Sarawak ;  and  that  of  medical  missionaries  of  the  Cliurch  Missionary 
Society  and  Scottish  Medical  Missions. 


GATHERING   SHADOWS.  IJI 

satisfactory  results  of  evangelization  have  followed  in  the  wake  of 
missionary  philanthropy,  ministering,  in  the  true  spirit  of  love 
to  the  wants  of  diseased  limbs  and  famishing  bodies.  The 
annals  of  such  missions  as  those  of  Nazareth,  Tinnevelly,  and  of 
the  ingatherings  after  the  waifs  and  strays  of  the  Indian  famine 
had  tasted  the  kindness  of  those  who  gave  bread  to  the  hungry, 
furnish  cogent  evidence.  The  lives  of  such  men,  as  Dr.  Hender- 
son and  Dr.  Lockhart  in  China,  Dr.  Elmslie  in  Kashmir,  show 
how  deep  an  impression  may  be  made,  and  how  the  gospel  way 
may  be  prepared  by  medical  skill  moved,  hallowed,  blessed  by 
prayer,  and  followed  up  by  teaching. 

The  first  noteworthy  incident  was  the  healing  of  the  ten  lepers.' 
The  watchful  opposition  of  the  Pharisees  lay  in  wait  for  Him  at 
every  place.  The  nearer  He  drew  to  Jerusalem  the  hotter  was 
the  fire  of  criticism.  Opposition  to  the  truth  does  truth  great 
service.  Attack  calls  forth  defence.  Criticism  enforces  explana- 
tion, arrests  attention.  "  These  men  are  full  of  new  wine,"  said 
the  negative  critics  at  Pentecost.  An  answer  to  the  charge  vin- 
dicated the  truth  and  published  it  abroad.  Frequently  the 
Pharisaic  attacks  supplied  Jesus  with  a  text  and  an  opportunity 
for  declaring  the  kingdom  of  God.  Such  questions  as  that  may 
have  sometimes  been  the  expression  of  honest  difficulty  and 
single-hearted  inquiry  (Luke  xvii.  20).  But  that  stage  was  long 
past  with  the  Pharisees — 

"  Sin  of  self-love  possesseth  all  mine  eye. 
And  all  my  soul,  and  all  my  every  part : 
And  for  tliis  sin  there  is  no  remedy, 

It  is  so  grounded  inward  in  my  heart."  » 

Any  questions  put  by  them  were  the  explosion  of  bitter  animus, 
and  of  the  desire  to  involve  Jesus  either  with  the  Roman  govern- 
ment, or  with  the  masses,  or  with  both. 

The  question  of  divorce  was  cunningly  raised  about  the  same 
time  by  a  Pharisaic  deputation.  Whatever  answer  our  Lord  re- 
turned He  would  come  into  conflict  with  Rabbinical  practice  and 
popular  belief  It  was  the  deepest  of  all  questions  pertaining  to 
family  life.     As  Prince  of  Israel,  as  the  Divine  head  of  society, 

'  On  leprosy,  past  and  present,  see  an  article  by  Agnes  Lambert  in  The 
Nineleentk  Ceniuiy,  August,  1884. 
'  Shakespeare,  Sonnet  62. 


152  JESUS  CHRIST. 

as  the  reformer  both  of  the  individual  and  of  human  society, 
He  resolved  a  question  which  touched  many  human  interests- 
To  this  current  of  controversial  inquiry  we  owe  Christ's  re- 
affirmation of  the  primitive  Divine  law  of  the  unity  effected 
by  holy  matrimony,  and  of  its  indissolubilit)'.  The  Mosaic 
permission  of  legaP  divorce  was,  He  said,  a  provisional  con- 
cession to  their  hardness  of  heart.  No  teaching  couid  have 
been  more  against  the  grain  of  contemporary  practice.  The 
school  of  Shammai  counselled  divorce  only  on  the  ground  of  un- 
chastity,  "a  matter  of  shame"  (Deut.  xxiv.  i).  The  school  of 
Hillel  interpreted  the  latter  clause  in  any  and  every  sense.  "  A 
man,"  said  Hillel,  "  may  put  away  his  wife  if  she  prepares  a 
dish  badly  ;  if  she  makes  a  blunder  ;  if  she  lets  the  meat  burn." 
Rabbi  Akibah  allows  it  if  he  sees  a  fairer  woman.  But  in  any 
case  divorce  "  was  obtained  with  an  ease  and  frequency  quite 
revolting."  ^ 

That  some  of  the  nobler  minds  took  a  higher  view  in  principle 
and  in  practice  is  proved  by  clear  evidence,  as  by  the  saying  of 
Rabbi  Eliezer,  "  Whosoever  divorces  his  first  wife,  even  the 
(very)  altar  sheds  tears  over  him,  for  it  is  said"  (Mai.  ii.  13,  14), 
&c.,  &C.3  But  whatever  may  have  been  exceptional  practice  on 
the  whole  "the  Jewish  Law  unquestionably  allowed  divorce  on 
almost  any  ground."''  In  no  respect  was  Jesus  more  above  and 
beyond  and  contrary  to  His  time  than  in  the  matter  of  marriage. 
In  no  respect  less  conceivably  the  creature  and  the  exponent  of 
His  age  and  environment.  To  this  positive  and  negative  ele- 
vation of  marriage  to  a  level  worthy  of  symbolizing  in  His 
apostle's  language,  "  Christi  et  ecclesiae  sacramentum,"  5  the 
Lord  added  a  sanction  to  celibacy,  and  a  virtual  blessing  upon 
it  undertaken  for  the  kingdom  of  God's  sake  by  those  to  whom 
it  is  given.  Buddhism,  on  the  other  hand,  regards  celibacy  as 
all  but  essential  to  the  attainment  of  Nirvana,  and  invariably 
discourages  the  married  life.* 

Christ's  teaching  on  marriage  was  very  different  to  that  of 
the  Rabbis.     It  stands  still  farther  apart  from  that  of  the  sanc- 

'  The  Talmudic  letter  of  divorcement  may  be  seen  in  Stapfer,  p.  154,  E.  T. 

•  Stapfer,  p.  153. 

i  Hershon,  p.   239  p.,  and  Stapfer,  p.  153  q.  ;   "Gittin,"'  10  b,    "  San- 
hed.'"  22  a. 
4  Edersbeim,  ii.  333  ;  Stapfer,  s.  I.         s  Mediaeval  marriage  service. 

*  Cf.  Kellogg,  p.  313  following. 


GATHERING  SHADOWS.  I53 

tioned  polygamies  of  Mahommedanism.  It  breathes  a  wholly 
difierent  air.  The  whole  conception  of  marriage  was  more  than 
restored  to  its  original  ideal.  It  was  transformed  and  heigh- 
tened and  consecrated. 

The  general  position  of  woman  towards  man,  both  in  the 
particular  matrimonial  relation,  and  in  all  the  social  and  domes- 
tic relations,  was  raised  in  conception  infinitely,  and  gradually 
has  risen  in  practice  as  Christian  ideas  have  taken  effect. 
Christ's  own  demeanour  towards  woman,  His  birth  of  the  holy 
virgin,  His  honour  and  compassion  to  the  outcast  and  the  in- 
fluential alike,  were  repaid  by  the  abundant  devotion  of  daughters 
of  Israel.  His  conduct  and  bearing  were  the  first  movement 
towards  their  emancipation.  His  attitude  towards  divorce,  a 
question  in  which  woman  has  always  been  the  greater  sufferer, 
was  in  itself  an  incalculable  advance  of  their  rights. 

He  was  never  sick.  He  never  needed  those  gende  ministries 
of  mercy  where  women  all  the  world  over  are  angels  of  compas- 
sion and  skill.  But  His  wounded  Body  was  reverently  handled 
at  the  rocky  sepulchre  by  those  whom  His  love  and  respect  had 
won. 

But  His  Incarnation  was  the  honour  of  honours  paid  to 
womanhood.  Women  henceforward  were  all  implicated  in 
the  sacred  dignity  of  her 

"  Who  born  of  Eve,  high  mercy  won, 
To  bear  and  nurse  the  Eternal  Son, 
O  awful  station  to  no  Seraph  given, 
On  this  side  touching  Sin,  on  th'  other  Heaven."* 

And  the  long  submission  in  gentleness  and  patience  to  the 
mother's  love  and  empire  in  the  cottage  home  has  brightened 
Christian  homes  and  Christian  motherhood  with  a  glory  of  con- 
secration and  pre-figurements  of  heaven.  For  Christian  women 
are  not  likely  to  forget,  nor  Christian  men  who  honour  a 
mother's  name  with  filial  devotion,  and  secret  incense  of 
homage  when  only  the  name  and  memory  are  left,  nor  Christian 
children  most  of  all  to  whom  the  mother  is  an  earthly  divinity— 
to  forget  how 

"  Thenceforth,  whom  thousand  worlds  adore, 
He  calls  thee  motlier  evermore  ; 
Angel  nor  saint  His  face  may  see, 
Apart  from  what  He  took  of  thee."  ' 

'  J.  Keble. 


154  JESUS  CHRIST. 

And  as  He  honoured  the  higher  and  holier  provinces  of 
woman's  empire,  the  marriage  union,  the  home,  so  He  shed  the 
rays  of  His  compassion  upon  the  dishonoured  and  the  self- 
degraded.  Such  He  won  back  to  self-respect,  to  usefulness,  to 
devoted  service  ;  of  such  materials  as  the  harlot  He  could 
manufacture  saints. 

Side  by  side  with  the  Christian  homage  of  women,  from  the 
days  of  chivalry  to  those  of  their  intellectual  emancipation, 
may  be  placed  by  way  of  contrast  the  Jewish  Morning  Prayer, 
where  the  men  in  three  consecutive  benedictions,  bless  God 
*•  who  hath  not  made  me  a  Gentile — a  slave — a  woman."' '  Or 
we  may  compare  such  a  high  non-Christian  religion  as  that  of 
China,  where  the  feet  of  girls  are  bound  and  cramped,  and 
where  "  no  generous  sentiment  tending  to  the  amelioration  of 
the  social  position  of  woman  ever  came  from  either"  Confucius 
or  Mencius.*  Possibly  the  respect  shown  to  women  may  have 
been  at  times  pushed  too  far  in  the  next  Christian  generation. 
For  in  the  Corinthian  Church  there  are  indications  of  feminine 
usurpations  of  ecclesiastical  authority  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles. 
And  in  the  remarkable  Epistle  of  St.  Clement  of  Rome  to  the 
same  Church  about  forty  years  later,  the  same  irregularity  calls 
for  severe  censure. 

And  in  this  love  and  respect  shown  to  those  who  have  lost 
all,  even  for  themselves,  Ciiristians  have  from  the  first  seen  an 
example.  Christ  could  not  only  wash  away  guilt.  He  could 
renovate  and  re-create.  And  so  the  weak  are  made  strong,  the 
unclean  clean,  the  sensual  spiritual.  In  this  way  the  moral 
laws  of  nature  are  constantly  broken.  The  chains  of  evil  habit 
and  circumstance  are  snapped,  sometimes  by  a  sudden  resurrec- 
tion, more  commonly  as  in  the  history  of  society  as  a  whole  so 
in  that  of  its  units,  by  gradual  disintegration  of  evil  and  integra- 
tion of  good.  The  waifs  of  passion,  the  wrecks  of  stormy  lust, 
the  prodigal  daughters,  are  sought  and  saved  by  Christ's 
workers,  not  in  the  contemptuous  spirit  of  the  proselytizer,  or 
in  the  interests  of  sanitary  science  and  public  health,  but  by 
those  who  are  armed  with  the  purity  of  the  One  Pure  and  His 
compassionate  love,  or  by  those  who  have  been  rescued  from 
the  like  dregs  by  His  sweet  mastery. 

'  Cf.  Taylor,  "  Pirke  Aboth,"  5,  "  prolong  not  converse  with  a  woman." 
*  Prof.  Legge,  "Religions  of  China,"  p.  iii 


GATHERING   SHADOWS.  1 55 

One  of  the  greatest  contrasts  between  Christianity  as  it  now 
is,  with  all  its  imperfections  and  unrealized  ideals,  and  non- 
Christianity  may  be  seen  to  the  advantage  of  the  former,  in  the 
moral  and  social  position,  or  no  position,  of  women,  where  there 
has  been  no  Christian  influence  to  disenslave  them.  And 
where,  as  in  India,  there  is  beginning  to  show  itself  a  tendency 
to  raise  them  in  the  social,  intellectual,  and  spiritual  scale,  it  is, 
directly  or  indirectly,  traceable,  beyond  any  shadow  of  doubt, 
to  the  working  of  Christian  teaching  and  practice  in  social  and 
individual  life.  In  the  instruction  and  elevation  of  Indian 
women  in  their  zenanas  lies  one  of  the  most  open  doors  to  the  en- 
trance of  the  one  faith  which  leaves  no  fragment  of  life,  social  or 
individual,  ungoverned,  unpurified,  unenfranchized,  uncrowned. 

The  holy  charm,  the  loveable  attractiveness  of  Christ's 
character  is  exemplified  by  the  next  incident.  Perhaps  a 
spectator  of  the  un-Rabinnical  tenderness  to  the  children,  or  of 
some  similar  unconventional  emotionalism,  a  young  ruler  threw 
himself  impetuously  at  the  Lord's  feet  (Mark  x.  13  ;  x.  17,  and 
Synoptists).  His  haste,  his  question,  his  spirit,  revealed  the 
presence  of  a  deep  moral  need  shaking  his  soul.  The  answer  of 
our  Lord  contained  no  new  revelation,  but  a  re-affirmation  of 
the  old.  Let  the  young  man  examine  himself  and  so  let  him 
prepare  for  eternal  life.  His  conscience  certified  that  he  had 
been  obedient  after  a  Jewish  manner.  Christ  then  lifts  the 
veil  of  the  higher  life.  He  was  eternal  life  ;  union  with  Him 
implied  there  and  then  the  loss  of  all  things.  Such  a  demand 
could  only  be  justified  if  the  good  Master  were  really  God. 
The  rich  man  must  return  to  his  original  question  and  decide 
who  He  was — who  made  a  claim  so  sweeping. 

The  tremendous  decision  shown  and  demanded  by  Christ 
foreshadowed  the  approach  of  the  final  crisis.  The  time  was 
very  short,  the  fire  would  be  very  hot,  only  the  whole-hearted 
would  bear  the  strain.  The  same  spirit  breathes  in  the  follow- 
ing warning  about  and  to  the  wealthy.  Times  of  dilemma  come 
when  the  Christ  follower  will  be  called  to  sacrifice  everything  to 
Him.  They  may  come  to  all.  All  then  must  share  the  sacrificial 
spirit  and  be  ready,  if  called  upon,  for  the  forlorn  hope.  Such 
surrender  brings  its  own  reward.  What  has  been  given  up  is 
received  again  many  times  over' — with  persecutions— in  this 
»  The  prerent  writer  heard  a  Colonial  bishop  (Rawle  of  Trinidad)  dwell 
upon  his  own  experience  of  the  fulfilment  of  this  promise— but  without  tha 
darker  side,  persecutions 


156  JESUS   CHRIST. 

present  life.  These  words  form  another  important  contribution 
to  the  missionary  charter  of  the  Church  ;  for  to  the  foreign 
warfare  of  Christ's  soldiers  they  most  hterally  apply. 

The  m.iny  indirect  warnings  are  now  clenched  by  His  re- 
iterated prediction  of  the  Passion.  "  Behold  we  go  up  to  Jeru- 
salem" (Luke  xviii.  31,  and  Synoptists)— this,  the  long  silent 
master-thought,  now  finds  utterance.  The  details  of  the  scene 
rise  up  minutely  before  Him  even  as  they  had  flashed 

"  In  outline,  dim,  and  vast," 

in  fragmentary  intuitions  and  scattered  half-lights  upon  the 
prophets.  What  they  saw  in  parts  He  saw  wholly,  but  the 
disciples  vaguely  or  not  at  all.  So  completely  had  the  suffering 
aspect  of  Messiah's  work  crumbled  away  from  Jewish  memory 
that  this  detailed  statement,  and  that  too  doubtless  in  a  manner 
indescribably  solemn,  failed  to  be  intelligible  to  them  ;  and  the 
next  question  asked  was  the  petition  for  pre-eminence,  in  the 
Messianic  kingdom,  by  Zebedee's  wife  and  her  two  sons  (Mark 
X-  35)- 

Jesus  now  crossed  the  Jordan.  It  was  His  Rubicon.  A  march 
across  an  arid  waste  brought  the  festal  band  to  Jericho.  (Luke 
xviii.  35  and  Synoptists).  A  gleam  of  sunshine  lighted  up  the 
way  to  storm  and  darkness.  For  the  beautiful  city  of  Palms 
and  the  plain  of  Jericho  recalled  warm  and  verdurous  Galilean 
home,  and  the  salvation  of  Zacchaeus,  the  healing  of  the  blind, 
the  joyous  crowds  of  pilgrims,  suggest  an  interval  of  inward  and 
outward  gladness.  There  are  no  signs  here  of  the  rejection  of 
the  Messiah.  Officials  from  the  grand  palace  and  gardens  of 
Archelaus,  soldiers  from  the  forts  of  Herod  which  guarded  the 
death-bed  of  their  builder,  merchants  who  have  stopped  to  pur- 
chase balsam  on  their  route  to  or  from  Arabia  and  Damascus, 
priests  from  the  priestly  city  or  their  rural  homes,  and  a  many- 
coloured  stream  of  Galilean  and  Peraean  pilgrims,  form  a  crowd 
of  questioning  onlookers  as  the  Nazarene  Prophet  passes 
through  the  midst.  The  question  of  all  questions  was  the 
absorbing  one  of  the  hour.  All  the  minutiae  of  triviality  which 
fill  the  minds  of  many  even  at  great  times,  and  moving  moments, 
must  have  vanished  at  the  living  presence  of  the  great  Mystery 
passing  on  to  the  threatened  death  or  to  the  crest  of  a  Messianic 
revolution. 


GATHERING    SHADOWS.  157 

"  All  cognition  is  recognition." '  For  the  most  part  unknown, 
because  unrecognized  in  His  fulfilments  of  Messianic  law  and 
prophecy,  the  Master  of  hearts  stepped  out  into  the  fierce  light 
that  beats  upon  a  public  man  by  a  direct  challenge  to  social 
prejudice  and  local  pique.  The  head  of  the  customs  is  directly 
invited  to  become  his  host  for  the  night,  the  most  unpopuh-.r 
man  in  a  focus  of  national  life  and  prejudice.  The  spiritual 
intensity  of  the  incident  is  shown  in  the  instantaneousness  of 
the  publican's  conversion.  The  corrupt  child  of  an  age  of  cor- 
ruption and  fraud,  steeped  in  an  atmosphere  of  oppression  on 
the  one  side,  social  suspicion,  national  aversion,  and  individual 
opposition  on  the  other,  is  confronted  for  the  first  time  of  his 
life  with  absolute  personal  honesty,  transparent  truth,  and  single- 
mindedness.  The  hardened  man  of  the  world  openly  confessed 
his  guilt  to  the  world.  Heart  and  life  were  changed  at  a 
stroke  before  the  burning  gaze  of  Incarnate  Honour.  Many 
previous  doubtings  of  heart  may  have  led  up  to  this  happy 
catastrophe. 

Jericho,  as  a  place,  is  now  a  desolate  wilderness.  "The 
Bedouin  lead  the  flocks  across  the  plain  as  did  the  patriarchs  of 
old."  "But  there  is  no  other  sign  of  human  life." ^  The  soil, 
as  in  so  many  parts  of  Palestine,  is  said  to  be  as  fertile  as  ever. 
A  good  government  in  that  afflicted  country  would  be  as  life 
from  the  dead  in  a  land  where  Nature  opens  a  bountiful  bosom 
to  farmer  and  agriculturist  and  engineer.  The  redemption  of 
the  soil  of  the  Holy  Land,  its  restoration  to  fruitfulness,  to  sani- 
tary well-being,  to  freedom  from  ruinous  oppression,  venial 
administration,  and  financial  tyranny,  is  a  worthier  cause  of  a 
Crusade  than  even  the  recovery  of  the  questioned  site  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre.  Christian  politicians  have  here  a  golden 
opportunity  for  putting  une.xceptionable  pressure  upon  the 
Porte ;  Christian  commerce  and  science  an  inviting  field  for 
regenerating  efforts  and  richly  rewarding  work.  May  the  Lord 
who  there  brought  us  salvation  of  body  and  soul  help  us  to 
extend  to  it  material  salvation  I 

The  discrepancies  in  the  accounts  of  the  healing  of  the  two 
blind  men  at  Jericho  must  be  left  as  they  are.  At  all  events 
they  prove  the  independence  of  the  narratives,  and  the  absence 
of  collusion.  The  general  credibility  of  the  evangelists  will  not 
be  destroyed  by  minute  differences  of  detail,  here  or  elsewhere. 

»  H.  Spencer.  •  S.  Manning,  "Those  Holy  Fields,"  p.  77. 


IS8  JESUS  CHRIST. 

The  absence  of  any  such  differences  would  be  far  more  suspi- 
cious than  the  presence.  Some  have  supposed  that  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  Herodian  Jericho  are  here  confused  in  the 
accounts,  but  a  brief  examination  of  the  passages  negatives  that 
hypothesis.  Bengel's  solution  is  more  probable,  that  Christ  heard 
one  man  cry  for  mercy  as  He  entered  and  healed  him,  and 
Bartimseus  as  He  left  the  city.  But  common  as  blindness  was, 
and  is,  in  the  East  generally,  and  in  Palestine,  it  is  not  impro- 
bable that  He  healed  one  on  the  way  to  Jericho,  and  that  he 
told  his  recovery  and  the  method  of  it,  to  two  fellow  sufferers. 
So  the  same  scene  may  have  taken  place  again  as  He  left. 

A  crowd  of  pilgrims  had  come  up  early  to  purify  themselves 
before  the  feast.  As  they  stood  in  groups  in  the  Temp'e  (John 
xi.  56)  the  uppermost  question  in  their  minds  was  where  is 
Jesus  ?  St.  John  sketches  this  scene  as  illustrating  his  general 
plan  of  pourtraying  the  spiritual  attitude  of  the  people  towards 
the  Messiah,  and  as  prelusive  of  the  final  decision.  That  deci- 
sion was  the  last  result  of  a  long  series  of  intermediate  rejections. 
It  was  deliberate  on  the  part  of  the  leaders  at  least.  The  causes 
which  led  up  to  it  are  indicated  at  every  turn  of  the  history,  it 
was  not  a  momentary  outburst  of  temper,  nor  the  rabid  fury  of 
blind  fanaticism  mistaken  in  means  Avhile  worthy  in  ends.  It 
was  the  climax  of  all  the  struggles  in  which  the  most  favoured 
branch  of  fallen  humanity  had  contended  against  God. 

While  Jewish  pilgrims  were  speculating  about  His  coming  to 
the  passover  Jesus  spent  the  last  Friday  before  the  Passion  in 
the  now  dearer  home  of  Bethany.  On  the  following  day  He 
shared  the  Sabbath  feast  with  Mary  and  Martha  and  Lazarus 
and  apparently  other  guests,  in  the  house  of  Simon  the  Leper 
(Matt.  xxvi.  6 ;  Mark  xiv.  3 ;  John  xii.  i).  Mary's  anoint- 
ing may  have  been  prompted  by  some  reference  to  His  self- 
consecration  by  death,  or  the  simple  outpouring  of  a  sisterly 
love  made  more  fragrant  by  gratitude  for  a  brother  restored 
from  the  grave.  But  Christ  saw  a  higher  end  fulfilled,  as 
all  action  passes  beyond  itself  to  unseen  Divine  issues.  He 
was  already  being  embalmed  for  His  burial,  and  some  of  it  may 
actually  have  been  used.  The  words  were  mysterious  and 
suggestive.  Yet  only  a  week  lay  between  the  symbolic  and 
actual  unction.  The  outspoken  objection  of  Judas  is  reported 
by  St.  John,  not  as  a  mere  detail,  but  to  reveal  the  hidden 
man    of   the  heart.      The    moral   attitude   of  Judas   was  no 


GATHERING   SHADOWS.  I  59 

more  sudden  than  that  of  the  chief  priests  and  Pharisees,  or 
Mary  and  Martha's.  The  importance  of  this  incident  in  its  after- 
lights  explains  the  Johannine  repetition  of  the  two  previous 
Synoptist  accounts  in  fuller  personal  portraiture. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  MESSIANIC  ENTRY.      THE  CONTRADICTION   OF    SINNERS. 

"  Now  I  behold  how  worldly  gain  is  loss, — 
That  weeks  and  days  and  hours  that  by  us  fleet, 
Must  wear  the  Royal  impress  of  the  Cross." 

Isaac  Williams. 

The  Triumphal  Entry — The  Devil's  stand — The  Second  Temple  cleansing 
— The  barren  figtree — The  "Day  of  Questions  " — The  Divine  Con- 
troversialist— The  Divine  Apocalypse — Jewish  Eschatology. 

The  oft'ering  of  Mary's  homage  is  followed  by  the  acclaiming 
welcome  of  the  people.  For  one  day  He  came  unto  His  own 
and  His  own  received  Him — even  on  that  day  a  minority 
despised  and  rejected  Him. 

The  importance,  present  and  prospective,  of  the  Triumphal 
Entry  of  the  Messiah  appears  from  the  fourfold  minuteness  of 
the  report. 

With  the  patient  foresight  of  details,  and  the  orderly  method 
which  marked  the  march  of  Jesus'  plans,  He  sent  forward  two 
pioneers  to  loose  and  bring  the  ass's  foal.'  This  detail  of 
Zachariah's  prophecy  had  not  escaped  His  memory,  nor  failed 
of  its  aim.  The  Prince  of  Peace  could  not  ride  on  the  horse, 
the  beast  of  war,  into  the  City  of  Peace. 

The  final  decision  was  now  coming.     The  King  makes  His 

'  The  actual  and  metaphorical  use  by  Christ  of  the  animal  world 
suggests  per  se  its  participation  in  man's  recovery,  and  in  the  resurrection  to 
anew  earth  of  "  glorious  liberty,"  as  was  suggested  before  at  the  manger. 


TIIF.    Ml.SSlANIC    ENIRV.  l6l 

last  offer  to  the  Royal  City.  For  once  He  will  enter  in  royalty 
and  imposing  pageant.  They  had  rejected  Him  upon  His  own 
evidence  of  dignity  and  worth.  Will  they  accept  Him  at  the 
head  of  an  army  of  peace,  supported  by  serried  troops  of 
Galilean  pilgrims,  their  acknowledged  Lord  and  Prince 
Messiah  .''  Even  the  people  are  declaring  for  Him.  Will  they 
change  their  minds  ?  The  verdict  must  be  given  this  day. 
The  last  plea  is  uttered.  The  last  witness  has  been  called. 
The  question  is  now  set  before  the  nation,  and  the  Holy  City 
especially,  for  the  last  time.  Jesus  asks  it  in  word.  Jesus  asks 
it  in  action.  In  word  and  in  action  the  all  but  universal  reply 
is  made.  There  is  not  the  slightest  evidence  that  Jesus 
expected  to  take  the  allegiance  of  the  people  by  storm  "  by 
suddenly  unfurling  the  Messianic  banner  and  overwhelming  the 
murmurs  of  opposition  by  the  rejoicing  shouts  of  the  people." 

From  first  to  last  He  knew  perfectly  well  how  it  would  end. 
The  temporary  enthusiasm  of  the  pilgrims  did  not  confuse 
Him.  Nor  did  He  turn  bitterly  away  with  cynical  contempt  for 
mob  acclamations.  The  vision  of  a  fallen  Jerusalem,  a 
desolate  city,  a  ruined  house  of  God,  shows  that  His  eyes  were 
looking  beyond  the  gates  of  the  present,  and  that  His  heart  was 
brooding  over  His  people's  sorrows,  not  His  own.  We  need 
not  therefore  suppose  that  the  cheers  of  the  festal  crowd  were 
ungenuine  or  uncoraforting.  We  may  rather  see  "  in  part,"  and 
prophesy  "  in  part,"  a  vision  of  a  Royal  entry  into  the  anti- 
typal  City  of  God,  of  waving  palms,  and  multitudinous  concor- 
dant voices,  greeting  and  accompanying  the  King  of  Glory. 

It  is  impossible  to  read  the  long  and  darkening  tragedy  of 
Jewish  rejections  of  God,  first  in  His  messengers,  and  last  in 
His  Son,  without  detecting  a  superhuman  influence  at  work. 
Behind  his  unconscious  instruments  the  master  of  evil  was 
busy.  Annas  and  Caiaphas,  Pontius  Pilate,  Judas,  were  tools 
of  the  anti- Messiah.  He  was  at  bay.  The  gates  of  hell  were 
threatened ;  the  whole  hierarchy  of  hell  mustered  for  defence. 
Jesus  Christ  came  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil.  The 
devil  may  be  credited  with  a  better  contemporary  knowledge 
of  that  fact  than  ignorant  erring  humanity.  Whatever  power 
he  could  exercise  over  a  fallen  and  partly  enslaved  race  in  the 
plenitude  of  his  spiritual  intelligence,  in  the  fulness  of  his 
command  of  all  the  resources  and  powers  of  evil,  he  must  have 
put  out   in  his  self-defence.      He    carried   the  war   into  the 

12 


l62  JESUS   CHRIST. 

enemy's  country,  The  loss  of  Judas,  the  breaking  of  the 
apostolic  company,  the  denial  of  the  leading  apostle,  and  the 
desertion  of  all  of  them,  are  tributes  to  the  vast  organized 
activity  of  Satan's  final  stand.  After  three  years  of  the  trans- 
cendent personal  influence  which  had  been  acting  upon  them 
night  and  day,  he  succeeded  in  wresting  one  captive  from  the 
strong  grasp  of  Christ,  and  in  shaking  the  allegiance  of  His 
chosen.  He  had  already  succeeded  in  turning  the  Messianic 
nation  from  the  Divine  Messianic  Ideal.  He  had  blinded  the 
most  enlightened,  he  had  turned  religion  itself  into  an  anti- 
Messianic  engine.  He  had  corrupted  and  perverted  the  truth  ; 
he  had  maintained  an  unbroken  hostility  to  it  through  the 
dominant  party.  He  had  united  every  worldly  interest  in  a 
common  league.  He  had  by  masterly  manoeuvres,-  bound 
together  in  a  common  cause  and  a  common  course,  persons  and 
interests  so  antagonistic  as  the  Roman  governor,  the  Idumean 
king,  the  Jewish  high  priesthood,  and  the  masses.  All  hated 
one  another  but  shook  hands.  And  now  the  final  issue  of  ages 
of  progressing  evil,  advancing  corruption,  and  accumulating 
falsehood,  had  reached  its  climax,  and  the  full  volume  of  the 
gathered  momentum  of  actual  and  transmitted  evil  under  its 
acknowledged  and,  so  to  speak,  lawful  head,  guided  by  a  super- 
human will,  ordered  by  a  stupendous  intellect  enriched  with 
incalculable  experience  of  all  the  sciences  and  successes  of 
wrong,  was  launched  at  the  head,  and  at  the  heart,  and  at  the 
life  of  one  devoted  Man.  The  Week  of  the  Passion  was  the 
time  of  times.  The  field  of  battle  was  the  City  of  God. 
Humanity  was  the  prize  of  the  Victor.  Till  the  hour  and  in  the 
hour  of  his  absolute  rout  the  victory  appeared  to  rest  with  the 
Prince  of  Darkness. 

The  Triumphal  Entry  need  not  be  described  in  detail.  The 
picture  is  well  known,  and  Dean  Stanley's  memorable  contrast 
of  the  scene  that  then  was  and  the  scene  that  now  is  is  too 
perfect  for  broken  quotation. 

We  pass  on  with  the  silent  King  and  shouting  crowd  to  the 
Temple.  He  looked  round  about  on  all.  He  might  have  seen  a 
Temple  still  cleansed  and  for  ever  purified,  the  home  of  a  re- 
pentant people,  ready  to  welcome  the  Messiah  on  their  knees. 
But  Temple  and  people  were  uncleansed.  The  irreverence  of 
the  Temple  represented  a  people  who  had  a  name  but  not  a  life. 

The   night   was   spent   at    Bethany.      Sleepless   watch   and 


THE   MESSIANIC  ENTRV.  163 

prayer  may  have  caused  the  hunger  of  the  early  morrow.  Very 
early  Jesus  left  the  village,  well  known  as  the  modern  El  Aziriyeh, 
in  its  sheltered  peace.  A  single  figtree  stood  out  on  the  sky- 
line as  they  walked  on  to  the  city,  like  the  "  one  tree  "  on  a 
Kentish  hill. 

It  bore  neither  new  nor  old  fruit,  but  leaves  only.  The 
curse  of  Christ  blasted  the  false  tree  ;  it  was  barren,  so 
untrue  to  its  mission,  it  had  not  yielded  its  life  in  the  labour 
of  bearing  the  fruit;  it  was  false  in  its  display  of  leaves,  instead 
of,  or  without,  fruit.  In  both  respects  it  typified  the  people,  for 
whose  fruits  the  Lord  hungered  unsatisfied.  It  was  an  object- 
lesson,  an  acted  parable,  a  re-teliing  of  the  story  of  the  Fall, 
and  a  rehearsal  of  the  Last  Judgment,  "  Depart  from  Me,  ye 
cursed." 

The  second  Messianic  cleansing  of  the  Temple  follows.  The 
first  had  been  that  of  the  Messiah  Prophet,  the  Messiah  Patriot. 
The  second  was  that  of  the  Messiah  Judge,  the  Messiah  King. 
It  was  a  repeated  miracle  of  moral  impetus,  an  outburst  of 
"  sublime  and  generous  anger."  '  Those  who  look  only  at  the 
gentle  and  meek  lights  in  the  human  character  of  Christ,  forget 
the  fire  and  victorious  force  which  lay  hid  in  the  reserves  of 
His  strength.  His  was  neither  the  meekness  of  resigned, 
Hindu-like  inactivity,  nor  the  nerveless  gentleness  of  the  spirit- 
less, but  the  tenderness  of  the  strongest  of  the  strong  under  the 
restraint  of  self-governing  love  and  unfathomed  compassion. 
And  His  words  were  as  trenchant,  as  incisive,  as  powerful,  as 
His  deeds.  The  robbers  were  cast  out  from  the  House  of 
Prayer.  The  carriers  of  vessels  were  stopped  on  their  profane 
walk.  The  place  was  cleared,  and  as  quickly  refilled  with  the 
blind  and  lame,  who  came  to  be  healed. 

"  How  soon  a  smile  of  God  can  change  the  world  !  "  • 

And  to  the  noise  of  wrangling  traffic  succeeded  the  ringing 
acclamations  of  childish  hosannas.  Up  the  porticoes  and 
throucrh  court  to  court  sounded  the  welcome  of  the  only  lips 
in  Jerusalem,  outside  the  Christian  company,  which  did  not  cry 
Crucify.  Perhaps  they  were  Galilean  children  ;  "perhaps  those 
children  of  the  Levites  who  acted  as  choristers  in  the  Temple."  ^ 

•J.  A.  Symonds  on  Dante's  "  Divine  Comedy." 

'  R.  Browning,  "  In  a  Balcony."  3  Edersheim,  ii.  381. 


l64  JESUS  CHRIST. 

The  remainder  of  the  day  was  occupied  in  teaching.  The 
approaching  feast  and  its  Messianic  applications  must  have 
pointed  its  drift.  A  very  deep  impression  was  made  upon  the 
Paschal  multitudes.  The  after-labours  of  the  apostles  must 
have  profited  by  these  lessons  to  large  audiences.  Their  rapid 
successes  on  and  after  Pentecost  were  prepared  for,  and  they 
themselves  were  being  made  ready  for  ministries  of  healing  and 
preaching  in  large  centres  of  population,  and  before  mixed 
crowds,  as  they  had  already  been  in  training  for  missionary 
tours  and  rural  evangelizing.  Again  Christ  left  the  city  and 
sought  a  night's  shelter  at  Bethany.  Perhaps  the  rest  was 
necessary  to  Himself  and  His  apostles  ;  for  the  night  was 
coming  when  no  man  could  work,  and  for  the  work  of  the 
remaining  hours  of  life's  day  all  His  strength  was  needed. 

The  third  day  opened  with  the  early  morning  walk  over  the 
verdurous  Mount  of  Olives.  The  figtree,  now  withered,  was 
again  passed,  and  made  the  text  of  a  lesson  in  the  power  of 
prayer  ;  its  destructive  power  over  evil  and  difficulty 
conditioned  by  the  faith  and  forgiving  love  of  the  sup- 
plicant. "'We  remember,  that  the  promise  had  a  special 
application  to  the  apostles  and  early  disciples  ;  we  also  re- 
member, how  difficult  to  them  was  the  thought  of  full  forgive- 
ness of  offenders  and  persecutors  :  and  again,  how  great  the 
temptation  to  avenge  wrongs  and  to  wield  miraculous  power  in 
the  vindication  of  their  authority.'"  And  as  aggressiveness 
was  to  be  the  constant  policy  of  Christian  warfare,  the  temper 
must  be  of  impersonal,  selfless  aggression. 

When  Jesus  had  entered  the  Temple  Courts  and  was  walking 
about  and  teaching,  the  Chief  Priests  and  scribes  and  elders 
came  up  to  Him.  This  was  the  first  result  of  the  party 
deliberations  which  had  been  taking  place  since  the  raising  of 
I  azarus,  which  had  been  embittered  by  the  Triumphal  Entry, 
and  exasperated  by  the  second  implied  denunciation  of  the 
priestly  profits  made  by  the  Temple  traffic,  which  latter  must 
have  been  seriously  diminished  and  perhaps  entirely  stopped 
for  this  Passover.  They  put  a  question  to  Jesus.  It  was  the 
first  of  a  series  which  has  given  to  the  day  the  name  of  the 
"  Day  of  Questions."  It  was  no  new  one,  nor  asked  for  the 
first  time.  What  was  His  authority  ?  The  Lord's  answer  was 
the  same  as  before.  He  identified  His  authority  with  John's, 
•  Edersheim,  ii.  p.  377. 


THE  CONTRADICTION   OF  SINNERS.  16$ 

SO  far  as  the  greater  more  than  covers  the  less.  They  stood 
upon  the  same  platform,  authenticated  by  the  same  direct 
inspiration,  and  accredited  by  the  same  Power.  If  John  was 
of  God,  Jesus  was  of  God.  If  John  was  of  God,  what  he  said 
of  Jesus  was  of  God.  An  acceptance  of  John's  baptism  and 
teaching  as  heavenly,  involved  the  acceptance  of  the  claims  of 
Jesus,  who  was  the  end  of  all  John's  preaching.  Whose  duty 
was  it  but  theirs  to  examine  the  evidence  and  to  pronounce 
oflicial  judgment?  Their  answer  "  we  know  not  "  condemned 
themselves.  They  abdicated  their  position  and  evaded  their 
duty,  and  denied  their  moral  and  social  responsibility.  It  was 
an  Agnostic  attitude  to  adopt  towards  God,  who  had,  or  had 
not,  sent  John  ;  who  had,  or  had  not,  sent  Jesus. 

They  feared  the  people  and  durst  not  before  them  publicly 
pronounce  the  claim  of  the  great  prophet  invalid.  They  acted 
upon  policy.  Expediency  was  their  touchstone.  Truth  was  a 
matter  of  indifference.  The  venue  must  be  changed ;  the 
ground  of  controversy  shifted  ;  another  issue  raised.  To 
appeal  to  Rome  upon  any  religious  question  was  a  national 
apostasy.  It  was  to  betray  the  Church  to  the  State,  and  that 
State,  heathen,  hostile,  idolatrous,  and  impersonated  in  hated, 
guilty,  and  corrupt  officials.  To  an  honest  and  patriotic  Jew  it 
was  a  downright  appeal  to  the  devil.  Yet  would  Annas  and 
Caiaphas,  and  their  tools,  shrink  from  calling  in  upon  an 
ecclesiastical  question  the  very  power  which  had  invested  them 
with  rank  and  office  ? 

But  Jesus  did  not  act  upon  the  defensive  only.  The  three 
parables  from  Matt.  xxi.  28-xxii.  14,  were  a  counter  attack. 
The  burden  of  the  prophets  was  taken  up,  the  familiar  imagery 
of  the  vineyard  was  adopted  as  the  veil  of  a  personal  denunci- 
ation ;  and  in  no  softened  tones  or  hesitating  accents  the 
judicial  wrath  of  the  king  was  sternly  announced. 

Neither  entreaty  nor  menace,  neither  gentleness  nor  anger, 
equally  proceeding  from  a  love  which  would  leave  no  stone 
unturned,  no  moral  lever  unapplied  to  petrified  hearts  and 
darkened  understandings,  had  any  effect  upon  the  set  hatred 
of  the  Pharisees. 

They  were  past  repentance.  But  the  people  were  not  im- 
penetrable. For  the  sake  of  the  sheep  their  shepherds  must 
be  publicly  exposed  and  shamed.  The  direct,  or  indirect, 
polemics  of  Jesus  were  dictated  by  necessity,  not  opportunism: 


1 66  JESUS  CHRIST. 

They  were  the  utterance  of  uniform  charity,  not  the  explosion 
of  party  passion  or  outraged  feelings.  They  were  the  utterance 
of  plain  truth  by  One  who  knew  the  whole  truth  and  for  truth's 
sake  must  speak  it — in  behalf  of  God,  for  the  sake  of  the  false 
hypocrites  themselves,  and  for  the  sake  of  those  whom  they 
had  deceived,  and  would  deceive.  The  Jewish  nation  of  to-day 
suggests  the  most  cogent  evidence  of  the  necessity  of  the 
withering  exposure  of  the  hierarchy.  They  have  inherited  the 
Rabbinical  learning,  and  perpetuated  the  Rabbinical  tradition- 
alism ;  they  have  as  a  nation  adopted  the  debased  Rabbinical 
Messiah  for  the  true  and  Scriptural  Christ.  But  signs  are  not 
wanting  that  the  hearts  of  Israel  are  beginning  to  be  drawn  to 
the  true  Messiah. 

On  the  same  day  two  cheering  incidents  occurred.  In  the 
storm  of  judicial  wrath  which  swept  over  the  soul  of  the 
Messiah  in  the  face  of  the  enemies  of  God's  righteousness 
there  were  bright  interludes.  There  was  the  poor  widow  in  the 
Court  of  the  Women,  who  cast  in  her  "two  Perutahs" — all  she 
had,  the  germ  of  the  goodly  company  of  mothers  and  daughters 
of  Christ  who  spend  and  are  spent  for  their  Master.  There 
was  the  momentous  and  fruitful  inquiry  of  certain  Greeks. 
They  must  have  been  seekers  after  truth,  who  had  found  in 
Jewish  Scripture,  doubtless  in  the  Septuagint  version,  or  in 
later  pseudepigraphic  writing,  or  among  Jewish  home  in- 
fluences, some  satisfaction  of  their  spiritual  wants.  Greek 
thought  could  lead  them  to  moral  and  asthetic  self-culture, 
Greek  art  could  lead  them  to  the  beautiful,  but  no  abstract  or 
impersonal  ideals  can  satisfy  a  hungry  soul.  The  Law  brought 
before  them  an  Ideal  Personality,  but  must  have,  even  in  the 
watered  Septuagint,  created  the  sense  of  infinite  distance  be- 
tween Him  and  men  accustomed  to  anthropomorphic  concep- 
tions of  God.  The  Law  could  not  solve  the  question,  it  could 
only  point  to  its  solution.  Some  such  lines  of  inquiry,  whether 
morally  or  intellectually,  must  have  been  followed  by  the 
Greeks  who  pressed  Philip  for  a  personal  interview  with  Jesus. 
Philip  may  have  been  passing  through  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles. 
A  stone  balustrade  (Soreg)  parted  the  Greeks  from  Jesus  in  the 
Court  of  the  Women,  which  was  open  to  both  sexes,  and  where 
public  meetings  took  place.  The  Greek  inscription  it  bore  has 
been  lately  discovered  by  M.  Clermont  Ganneau,  and  ran  as 
lollows — 


THK   CONTRADICTION    OF   SINNERS.  \(f] 

"  no  foreigner  to  proceed 

within   the   1'artition   wall 

and  enclosure  around  the 

Sanc:tuary  ;  whoever  is 

caught  in  the  same 

will  on  that  account  be  liable 

to  incur  death." 

The  news  of  the  quest  of  the  Greek  proselytes  made  a  very  deep 
impression  upon  Jesus.  Since  the  Magians  sought  His  infant 
bed  it  was  the  first  Christward  movement  of  the  Gentile  world. 
It  was  spontaneous  and  self-originated.  Jesus  must  have 
stepped  down  into  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles  and  in  their 
presence  delivered  His  soul  of  the  Creed  of  the  Cross.  The 
grain  of  wheat  was  a  single  example  of  the  universal  law  of 
self-sacrifice,  which  beginning  in  Nature,  ascended  to  human 
nature.  The  Son  of  Man  Himself  obeyed  that  law  ;  His 
service  required  it  ;  God  would  honour  it.  The  death  He 
would  die,  and  the  life  it  would  bring  and  the  power  of  His 
own  attraction  thereby  and  thereafter  over  all,  came  vividly 
before  Him.  And  a  voice  from  heaven  authenticated  His 
prophetic  word  and  prayer.  Here  was  another  missionary 
lesson  to  those  who  would  soon  welcome  the  men  of  Corinth 
and  Ephesus,  Rome  and  Alexandria,  Antioch  and  Babylon,  into 
the  liberty,  fraternity,  and  equality  of  the  faith.  Those  Greeks 
and  that  crowd  which  heard  of  Christ's  lifting  up  must  have 
been  prepared  to  put  His  word  and  act  together,  when  they 
saw  it  in  three  days  with  thoir  own  eyes.  But  the  Christian 
syllogism  requires  the  touch  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  connect  the 
premises.     In  His  light  would  they  see  the  Light. 

This  Tuesday  was  possibly  the  most  laborious  day,  excepting 
the  last,  in  the  earthly  life  of  Jesus.  He  met  in  turn  every 
assailant.  He  silenced  Pharisees,  Scribes,  Herodians,  Sad- 
ducees.  He  lifted  up  His  voice  to  the  crowds.  It  was  the 
final  day  of  debate.  He  was  compelled  to  be  a  man  of  strife 
and  contention.  Such  a  day  of  mental  and  physical  exertion 
must  have  exhausted  the  human  spirit  of  Jesus.  It  was  a 
spiritual  martyrdom  for  the  truth's  sake.  Mind  and  body  were 
much  more  than  overworked.  Yet  as  He  went  homeward  on 
His  way  out  of  the  Temple  He  had  more  to  say,  and  it  must 
be  said.  What  it  must  have  cost  Him  can  only  be  faintly 
realized  by  prophets  whose  hearts  break  at  tlic  incssage  they 


l68  JESUS   CHRIST. 

cannot  muffle.  Necessity  was  laid  upon  Him.  Christ  felt  what 
He  said,  but  said  little  of  what  He  felt.  The  deeps  of  His 
sympathetic  sorrow  and  ycarninjr  desire  agonized  His  soul 
before  the  final  darkness  encompassed  Him  round. 

As  they  were  leaving  the  Holy  City  it  was  evening.  They 
walked  up  the  Mount  of  Olives,  perliaps  to  rest,  perhaps  to  look 
at  the  crimson  flushing  the  white  and  gold  of  the  Temple  mount, 
and  the  long  shadows  of  the  massy  walls.  The  red  rays  lingered 
over  the  royal  city  as  its  Sun  of  righteousness  was  departing, 

"an  awful  sign  and  tender, 
Like  the  Blood  of  the  Redeemer  shown  on  earth  and  sky."  ' 

They  hud  often  seen  the  Temple  in  its  glory  before.  But  just 
now,  perhaps  under  some  such  striking  atmospheric  effect,  and 
with  the  connecting  thread  of  some  lingering  ill-understood 
words  of  the  day  in  their  mind  as  they  went  out  of  the  Temple, 
tiiey  came  to  the  Lord  and  directed  His  particular  attention. 

Christ's  own  Messianic  predictions  and  their  sense  of  His 
pri)phetic  powers  supplied  a  basis  for  a  lesson  upon  this  majestic 
text.  The  flames  of  Jerusalem  would  re-write  it  in  letters  of 
fire.  The  early  Christian  Church  would  never  be  able  to  forget 
that  the  direst  calamity  that  ever  fell  upon  the  house  of  Israel 
was  clearly  predicted  by  Him  who  wept  over  its  coming 
shadows.  The  crash  and  downfall  of  the  Jewish  Church  re- 
verberated through  the  Jewish  and  Christian  world.  And  the 
prophetic  discourses  of  the  Lord,  which  must  at  the  time  have 
thrilled  the  disciples  with  wondering  awe  and  horror,  must  have 
come  to  the  ears  and  minds  of  many,  and  accentuated  in  their 
creed  the  belief  in  that  Second  Coming  foreshadowed  in  the 
same  visions  of  judgment.  This  may  help  to  account  for  the 
wide  and  strong  feeling  v.'hich  filled  early  Christians  of  the 
nearness  of  the  Lord's  return. 

Christ  had  declared  Himself  a  Prophet  all  His  life.  The  great 
prophecy  on  the  Mount  of  Olives  marks  the  climax  of  His 
prophesyings.  It  was  the  great  Messianic  Apocalypse.  'I  he 
occasion,  the  associations,  would  impress  the  memory  of  His 
words,  while  the  surpri^mg  novelty  anu  un-Jevvish  originality  of 
them  would  shock.  Voice  and  manner  were  as  sublime  as  the 
burden  of  His  prophecy,  with  some  touches,  it  may  be,  of  the 

'   ]c-^in  Ingt'low,  "  Rt'CiiiiLbtat  in  pace." 


THE   CONTRADICTION   OF   SINNERS.  169 

rapture  of  prophetic  ecstasy,  without  any  loss  of  self-command 
or  merely  emotional  excitement  ;  and  underlying  all,  streaming 
over  all,  the  fulness  of  perfect  sympathy,  Divine  and  human, 
with  all  that  was  on  His  side  in  the  time  to  come,  lighted  by 
perfect  insight,  welling  from  a  heart  at  one  with  God.  If  the 
style  is  the  man,  the  Man  Jesus  was  not  less  great  than  His 
words,  as  from  the  mountain  over  against  the  Temple  He  looked 
down  the  horizons  of  the  aeons — the  holy  city,  in  division  and 
fratricidal  strife,  a  ruin  and  desolation  where  the  Temple  was,  a 
scattered  people,  the  world  a  greater  city  of  confusion  and  divi- 
sion, but  in  its  midst  a  fair  Temple,  made  without  hands,  gradu- 
ally rising,  bearing  the  Name  of  names  ;  and,  in  the  farther 
distance,  the  lightning  rush  of  angels,  the  shaking  of  the  powers 
of  heaven,  the  Son  of  Man  descending  with  power  and  great 
glory,  the  Judgment,  the  Trial,  the  passing  away  of  all  but  words 
eternal  with  the  breath  of  His  eternity. 

Upon  the  devout  imagination  of  one  apostle  the  visions  of 
judgment  made  the  deepest  mark.  In  the  Apocalypse  of  the 
Messiah  we  have  the  germ  of  the  Apocalypse  of  John.  But  the 
Lord  from  heaven  supplemented  and  authenticated  what  the 
Lord  on  earth  had  outlined. 

Nor  were  the  disciples  altogether  unprepared  on  purely  Jewish 
grounds  for  eschatological  Messianic  conceptions.  The  disciples 
must  have  known  the  Book  of  Daniel,  which  exercised  so  great 
an  influence  upon  Jewish  thought  that  it  became  the  parent  of 
a  long  line  of  Apocalypses  with  symbolical  historic  pictures  and 
vaticinations.  The  visions  of  Ezekiel  were,  by  St.  John  at  least, 
minutely  known  and  realized.  The  ideas  expressed  in  the 
Apocalyptic  and  Pseudepigraphic  literature  must  have  assisted 
in  the  formation  of  their  Messianic  conceptions  in  this  as  in 
other  aspects.  The  way  then  was  prepared  for  the  conception 
of  the  Son  of  Man  in  His  glory  as  Judge. 

Pictoiial  visions  had  been  made  public  of  wars  and  confusions 
and  miquity  abounding  among  men,  hostilities  between  God's 
people  and  the  nations,  and  the  overthrow  of  the  latter  ;  in  later 
documents  by  the  Messiah  Himself,  or  by  the  Most  High  to 
usher  in  His  coming.  "The  slaughter  of  enemies  before  the 
Messianic  era  would  be  at  once  consummated  by  a  universal 
judgment,  or  something  very  like  it,  on  men  and  fallen  angels ;" ' 

■  Stanton,  p.  299,  foil,  for  detailed  quotation  and  comparison,  and  F.Jei&- 
heim  ii.  433,  foil. 


lyo  JESUS  CHRIST. 

or  else,  and  more  commonly,  the  Messiah's  reign  was  of  fixed 
duration,  "and  the  universal  judgment  was  placed  at  the  con- 
clusion of  it,  after  which  would  follow  finally  'the  world  to 
come."''  The  woes  of  the  Messiah  {Chebley  shel  Mashiach) 
were  a  common  theme.  The  future  blessedness  of  the  ri^j;hteous, 
•'the  accursed  valley"  for  "all  those  who  speak  with  their 
mouths  unseemly  words  against  God,  and  speak  impudently 
concerning  His  majesty"  (Enoch  xxvii.  2,  3).  In  connection 
with  the  Day  of  Judgment,  "  The  gulf  of  torments  shall  appear, 
and  opposite  to  it  the  place  of  rest  ;  the  furnace  of  Gehenna 
shall  be  revealed,  and  opposite  to  it  the  paradise  of  pleasures" 
(4  Esdras  vi.  1-4). 

Yet  comparison  of  Jewish  and  Christian  eschatology  shows 
that  where  the  former  left  the  language  of  psalmists  and  pro- 
phets, it  often  fell  from  the  sublime  into  the  grotesque,  from  the 
spiritual  to  the  material  and  earthly.  The  Christian  conception 
corrected,  refnied,  simplified,  purified,  dignified,  ennobled, 
spiritualized  in  the  process  of  transformation  and  promotion, 
l  he  Christian  conception  was  a  much  higher  and  deeper  and 
larger  structure  than  the  Jewish.  The  distance  between  the  two 
is  measurable  by  reading  the  Book  of  Enoch  side  by  side  with 
the  visions  on  Patmos. 

The  double  aspect  of  the  Lord's  Apocalyptic  discourse  is 
plain  upon  the  face  of  it.  It  was  both  historical  and  spiritual. 
Historical,  in  so  far  as  it  bore  upon  the  immediate  dangers  and 
difficulties  of  the  early  Church,  and  especially  upon  the  catas- 
trophe which  would  swallow  up  Jerusalem  and  the  whole  fabric 
of  Church  and  State  which  centred  in  the  Temple  ;  it  was 
spiritual  and  unchronological,  so  far  as  it  pourtrayed  in  vivid 
ct)lours,  but  in  outline  only,  the  militant  condition  of  the  Church 
of  Christ,  its  sufferings,  its  enemies,  its  unceasing  progress  from 
nation  to  nation,  till  the  consummation  of  the  age,  and  the 
I'arousia  of  tiic  Messiah  in  His  glory.  The  object  of  the  address 
was  not  to  satisfy  the  speculative  superstitiousncss  which  is 
always  peering  into  the  darkness  of  the  unrevealed,  but  to  create 
a  character  unshaken  by  chance  and  change,  a  temper  of  spirit 
and  life  not  ch.inging  with  changing  environments,  but  perma- 
ment  and  unalterable.*    It  was  also  calculated  to  destroy  falsified, 

•  lidersh'^im. 

-  Gordt>n's  watchword,  "  r>e  not  i;rcatly  moved,"  expresses  the  passive 

fcide  of  thi>  irulh,  tliL  (  liri>liair.s  del'msivc  pusitiuii. 


THE   CONTRADICTION    OF   SINNERS.  I71 

materialized,  and  realistic  conceptions  of  "  the  days  of  the 
Messiah."  The  "  coming  age  "  {Athid  labho)  merging  into 
"  the  world  to  come  "  {Olam  habbd)  was  very  different  from  any 
of  Rabbinical  fancy. 

The  Messianic  yoke  had  as  yet  been  comparatively  light  and 
easy.  The  disciples  had  been  in  "the  boyhood  of  religion."' 
The  fiery  trial  awaited  them.  They  were  now  entering  into  the 
troubled  waters  of  storm  and  shadow,  through  which  the  gospel 
fishing-vessel  would  fight  its  peaceless  way  of  peace  to  the 
haven.  The  life  of  the  Master,  looked  back  over  from  the 
brightened  heights  of  adoring  memory,  flooded  the  whole  of  His 
words  with  hght.  As  He  had  been,  so  they  would  be  in  the 
world.  Their  past,  and  yet  more  their  future  experience  with 
Him,  first  visibly,  then  invisibly,  would  be  a  repetition  of  His. 
The  false  Christs,  the  false  prophets,  the  persecutors,  the 
physical,  the  mental,  the  social,  the  spiritual  adversities  and 
adversaries,  were  not  the  accidental  difficulties  of  the  childhood 
of  the  Church  and  the  faith.  They  were  the  inseparable  environ- 
ment of  the  warfare  of  the  Christ  and  of  the  Christ's,  whereby  a 
process  of  selection  ^  and  elimination  would  sift  the  strong  and 
true. 

The  great  shock  of  conflict  between  the  Christian  and  the 
Judaizer  has  been  better  understood  of  late,  however  magnified 
into  irreconcilable  antagonisms.  Within  the  precincts  of  the 
faith  there  would  be  the  dissensions  which  even  the  living  pre- 
sence of  the  absolute  Master  did  not  entirely  check.  Without 
there  would  be  the  active  hostility  of  disintegrated  cults  and 
philosophies,  and  the  vis  inerticB  of  deadened  indifference.  Yet 
in  the  calm  presage  of  certain  progressive  victory,  the  Messiah 
armed  His  Messianic  community  for  a  world-wide  warfare.  The 
parables  enforce  the  same  practical  and  doctrinal  truths  as  the 
apocalyptic  discourse.  The  reiteration,  the  fulness,  the  peremp- 
toriness  of  style  and  description,  indicate  the  strength  of  the 
impression  the  Lord  wished  to  make  and  His  own  assured  con- 
fidence. 

*  Bp.  Milman,  "Love  of  the  Atonement." 
■  "  The  elect "  (Matt.  xxiv.  29). 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  DIVINE  SACRIFICE. 

•'  What  marvel,  when  the  Lord  our  God  most  High, 

Clothed  in  our  flesh,  was  lifted  up  to  die, 
If  then  His  Godhead  to  His  Manhood  gave. 
Merit  and  force  a  thousand  worlds  to  save  ?  " 

W.  Bright,  D.D. 

Judas  traitor — Wednesday  in  retreat — The  Last  Supper— Gethsemane — 
Tiie  arrest — The  Divine  Prisoner  before  Annas,  before  Caiaphas,  before 
Pilate,  before  Herod— Judas'  end — Before  Pilate  again — Ecce  Homo  I — 
Round  the  Cross — The  Seven  Words — The  Atonement. 

Once  more  Jesus  withdrew  Himself.  A  Jewish  Messiah  would 
have  raised  the  popular  tumult  dreaded  by  the  Rabbis.  The 
Son  of  Man  refuses  the  opportunity  and  passes  into  a  sacred 
silence  of  preparation.  The  day  of  apocalypse,  of  warning,  of 
prophecy,  is  followed  by  a  day  perhaps  of  prayer  and  sacred 
conversation  with  the  disciples.  We  can  hardly  be  wrong  in 
finding  here  the  explanation  of  Judas'  final  change.  Under  the 
plain  outspokenness  of  the  Lord's  Tuesday  words,  the  last  shred 
of  a  hope  of  a  Jewish  and  a  worldly  Messiah  had  been  destroyed. 
Judas  wanted  a  version  of  the  Satanic  Messiah  of  the  Third 
Temptation.  Failing  that  He  would  join  the  anti-Messianic 
party.  So  far  from  being  false  to  himself  he  would  be  false  to 
his  Master,  and  true  to  himself  There  is  not  the  slightest 
evidence  to  support  recent  attempts  to  whitewash  the  traitor. 
Whether  he  ever  made  such  excuses  to  himself  as  that  the 
Master  would  be  able  to  deliver  Himself  by  His  own  wonder- 
working power,  or  had  any  secondary  intention  of  forcing  His 


THE    DIVINE   SACRIFICE,  I73 

hand,  and  compelling  Him  to  declare  Himself  as  the  Messiah, 
it  is  bootless  to  inquire.  The  psychological  gospel  shows  the. 
real  spring  of  his  action  (Luke  xxii.  3  ;  and  later  John  xiii.  27)  : 
Satan  entered  into  him.  He  decided  for  evil.  Love,  honour, 
conscience,  benefits,  and  blessings,  common  prayers,  a  common 
hope,  were  not  worth  thirty  pieces  of  silver.  His  Messianic 
ideal  had  all  along  been  self.  His  Messiah  must  enrich  and 
advance  His  friends.  He  had  been  mercifully  denounced  as  a 
devil.  The  plain  personal  truth  had  not  won  him  "  the  grace 
of  repentance.'"  He  had  stolen  from  the  common  fund  which 
had  been  entrusted  to  him  as  the  man  of  business  capacity. 
What  should  have  been  and  was  meant  for  his  wealth  became 
an  occasion  of  falling. 

His  illusion  was  over.  His  ambitious  hopes  were  broken. 
In  bitter  disappointment,  and  the  low  cunning  of  hate,  he  would 
make  a  bargain  and  save  something  for  himself  out  of  the  com- 
ing wreck.  Secretly  he  steals  away  from  the  little  company, 
perhaps  pleading  Paschal  preparations,  and  makes  his  offer  to 
the  priestly  council.  "  From  the  very  Temple  Treasury,"  '^  with 
the  sacrifical  money,  at  the  hands  of  the  responsible  officers  of 
the  Church,  the  apostate  apostle  is  paid  for  the  blood  of  the 
Redeemer.  The  legal  price  of  a  slave  is  "  weighed  out  "  (Zech. 
xi.  12)  piece  by  piece,  thirty  shekels.^  It  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  Wednesday  as  well  as  Friday  were  kept  as  fasts  by  the 
early  Chui'ch. 

Wednesday  was  the  13th  Nisan.  On  the  evening,  the  14th, 
began  and  with  it  the  Passover,  "  in  the  popular  and  canonical 
sense."*  This  was  the  Day  of  Unleavened  Bread  (Luke  xxii.  7). 
Peter  and  John  were  sent  to  slay  the  lamb  and  to  make  ready  the 
Paschal  Supper.  Armed  with  provident  instructions  Judas  may 
have  bought  the  lamb  on  the  previous  day,  and ''  on  his  way  from 
the  sheep-market  to  the  Temple,  to  have  his  lamb  inspected, 
may  have  learned  that  the  chief  priests  and  and  Sanhedrists 
were  just  then  in  session  in  the  palace  of  the  high  priest  close 
by."  5  Some  of  its  blood  was  cast  at  the  base  of  the  altar,  and 
amongst  thousands  of  other  worshippers  and  Paschal  pilgrims, 
going  to  and  fro  the  Court  of  the  Priests,  the  two  bore  the  lamb 
to  the  large  upper  chamber  of  the  unnamed  friend. 

The  Paschal  Supper  was  the  highest  point  reached  in  the 

'  Clement  of  Rome.  '^  Edersheim,  ii.  477. 

3  Worth  about  2s.  6d.  each.        *  Edersheim,  ii.  479.         s  ibid,  ii.  486 


174  JESUS   CHRIST. 

self-revelation  of  Christ  to  heart  believers,  as  the  Cross  was  the 
highest  point  in  His  revelation  to  all  the  world.  All  sweet  and 
holy  communions  with  Him,  in  prayer  and  in  sacrifice,  in 
chanted  psalm  and  quiet  song  of  praise,  in  teaching  and  in  learn- 
ing, in  still  meditation,  in  suasive  discourse,  public  or  private,  in 
mighty  works  and  ministries  of  miracle,  met  here  in  a  central 
core.  The  discourse  at  Capernaum  had  prepared  their  minds 
for  the  truth  of  spiritually  receiving  the  Bread  of  Life,  the 
miracles  upon  the  loaves  had  interpreted  His  power  and  bounty 
of  supply  even  of  daily  bread.  The  frequency  of  His  bodily 
contact  with  the  sick  in  His  healing  treatments  had  revealed 
glimpses  of  the  mysterious  and  benedictory  Divinity  outflowing 
from  His  Body.  The  Lord's  prayer  for  daily  bread  and  the 
beatitude  upon  the  hungry  and  thirsty  after  righteousness  sug- 
gested more  than  the  supply  of  physical  want.  The  Paschal 
meal  itself,  the  sacrificival  time  and  place  and  act,  the  common 
feast,  the  broken  bread,  the  outpoured  wine — all  under  the 
historic,  under  the  devotional  associations  which  they  conveyed 
to  Israelites  steeped  in  the  lore  of  their  fathers,  worshipping 
with  their  worship,  taught  in  part  their  Christward  application, 
went  to  their  deepest  heart  of  memory,  of  devotion. 

There  was  the  still  fresh  imprc.vsion  of  the  burning  words  and 
works  of  Tuesday,  and  the  restful  prayers  or  communings  of 
the  day  before.  There  was  the  dark  sweet  shadow  of  the  Cross 
bathing  the  whole  scene  in  its  coming  glory,  and  breaking  in  a 
flood  of  inexpressible  tenderness  upon  the  sacrificial  Lamb  Him- 
self. Laden  With  the  weight  of  such  high  and  holy,  such  sad 
and  joyous  memories,  it  was  but  natural  that  every  day  in  the 
week,  which  became  the  Lord's  own,  became  a  day  for  repre- 
senting the  memorial  of  His  death,  and  the  witness  to  His 
resurrection,  and  the  medium  of  His  imparted  life.  The  Holy 
Communion  and  the  Commemorative  Sacrifice,  the  Lord's 
Supper  and  the  Eucharist  or  Thanksgiving,  are  names  which 
express  aspects  of  priceless  truth  and  beauty  impossible  for 
Christian  devotion,  unheated  by  controversial  discords,  to  spare. 
Many  are  the  dear  memorials  of  Christ.     This  the  chiefest. 

Viewed  under  these  converging  lights  of  the  past,  in  its  present 
cheer  and  solace  to  Himself  and  His  faithful,  in  its  future  blessed- 
ness to  the  children  of  His  kingdom,  and  its  typical  relation  to 
yet  far-off  Supper  of  the  Lamb,  we  understand  in  part  how  the 
Passover  was  by  thi^        rd    desired    with  desire.     And  this 


THE   DIVIXE    SACRIFICE.  175 

sacramevit,  like  its  twin  sister  of  the  gospel,  was  into  His  death 
but  into  His  life,  into  His  suffering  and  into  His  glory,  into  His 
humiliation  and  into  His  exaltation. 

At  the  Supper  Christ  took  the  head  of  the  low  table,  St. 
John  was  on  His  right.'  "  But  the  chief  place  next  to  the  Master 
would  be  that  to  His  left,  or  above  Him.  In  the  strife  of  the 
disciples  which  should  be  accounted  the  greatest  this  had  been 
claimed,  and  we  believe  it  to  have  been  actually  occupied,  by 
Judas."  After  the  foot-washing  ^  and  its  speaking  humility  and 
its  gentle  pathetic  warning  to  the  traitor,  and  the  scriptural  ap- 
peal to  his  conscience  in  the  language  of  the  psalmist,  the  next 
incident  of  moment  where  every  detail  is  most  precious  was  the 
plain  public  declaration  of  the  betrayal.  It  is  spoken  of  as  still 
in  the  future,  for  though  more  than  begun,  there  was  still  the 
hope  of  leaving  the  last  blow  unstruck.  The  words  and  the 
sop  struck  home  to  a  heart  which  had  now  ceased  to  be  human. 
Satan  and  his  own  hell  were  there,  and  even  the  final  thunder 
of  woe  upon  that  man  by  whom  the  Son  of  Man  is  betrayed  fell 
harmless  upon  it.  There  is  no  text  in  the  Bible  so  awful  as 
that  which  follows  in  the  record  of  him  who  lay  upon  the  Lord's 
bosom,  and  was  parted  by  Him  only  from  the  one  apostle  who 
was  never  seen  again — "  He  then  having  received  the  sop  went 
out  straightway  :  and  it  was  night." 

And  now  the  atmosphere  was  changed.  There  was  room  for 
that  Christian  Passover  which  should  take  the  place  of  the 
Jewish,  but  much  more  than  surpass  it.  "  If  we  are  asked  what 
part  of  the  Paschal  Service  corresponds  to  the  'Breaking  of 
Bread,'  we  answer,  that  this  being  really  the  last  Pascha,  and 
the  cessation  of  it,  our  Lord  anticipated  the  later  rite,  intro- 
duced when,  with  the  destruction  of  the  Temple,  the  Paschal  as 
all  other  sacrifices  ceased,"  anticipated,  i.e.,  the  custom  after 
the  meal  of  breaking  and  partaking  "as  aphiqomon,  or  after-dish, 
of  that  half  of  the  unleavened  cake  which  had  been  broken  and 
put  aside  at  the  beginning  of  the  Supper."  So  too  with  the 
third  cup  at  the  close  of  the  Supper,  or  Cup  of  Blessing,  was 
connected  the  institution  of  the  cup. 

A  fourth  cup  followed,  and  the  remainder  of  the  Hallel  (Psa 
cxv.-cxviii.)  formed   the  Eucharistic   Hymn  of  Thanksgiving 

*  For  diagram  and  details  see  Edersheim,  ii.  494. 

"  Still  practised  among  the  Greeks  and  Latins  in  Jerusalem. 


176  JESUS   CHRIST. 

This  was  followed  by  the  spoken  thoughts  which  St.  John  alone 
brought  out  from  the  treasure  of  his  memories  of  that 
"  Food,  so  awful  and  so  sweet  "  ' 

and  of  His  words  of  after-communion.  We  have,  as  it  were,  a 
continuation  of  the  prophetic  utterances  of  the  Tuesday.  But 
the  tone  is  different.  He  has  now  not  the  world  in  view,  but  His 
own  redeemed  children  and  faithful  friends.  He  speaks  heart  to 
heart,  soul  to  soul.  He  dwells  not  so  much  on  conflict  and 
opposition,  and  on  the  forces  of  evil  in  their  progressive  mani- 
festation, as  on  the  inward  glory  and  light  and  peace  of  His  own 
in  the  midst  of  the  world,  in  spite  of  the  Evil  One.  Above  all, 
He  prepares  them  for  the  coming  Paraklete,^  Advocate,  Com- 
forter, Spirit  of  Truth.  No  words  of  Christ  are  sweeter  with 
the  breath  of  love,  none  clearer  or  more  definite  in  doctrine. 
Christianity  was  never  so  tender,  as  when  it  was  most  doctrinal, 
on  the  lips  of  its  Head; but,  alas,  speaking  the  truth  and  speak- 
ing it  in  love  have  at  times  parted  company. 

After  listening  to  the  Lord's  words  of  communion  with  His 
friends,  we  are  suffered,  as  they  were,  or  one  of  them,  to  draw 
nearer  still  and  hear  His  words  of  communion  with  the  Father. 
It  is  the  high-priestly  prayer  of  self-consecration,  and  of  the 
consecration  of  those  whom  the  Father  had  given  Him.  The 
intercession  in  their  behalf  follows — that  they  may  be  one. 
Whether  in  the  Temple,  as  some  suppose,  or  in  the  open  air,  or 
more  probably  in  the  stillness  of  the  same  chamber  which  would 
so  often  afterwards  be  perfumed  with  the  incense  of  Christian 
devotion,  the  Divine  Prayer  was  breathed,  is  unknowable. 
Alike  in  communion  with  the  Father  and  in  communion  with 
the  disciples,  there  breathes  the  same  tender  tone  of  strong 
hope.  Jesus  calmly,  in  the  felt  shadow  of  the  Passion,  looks 
forward  and  upward  in  the  certitude  of  triumph. 

Cheered  and  strengthened  by  the  sweet  song  of  praise,  if  the 
One  Hundred  and  Eighteenth  Psalm,  laden  with  Messianic 
music,3  the  little  company  passed  out  of  the  still  crowded  city, 
across  the  torrent  Kidron,  which  separated  the  Mount  of  Olives 
from  the  Temple  mount,  to  the  garden  of  the  oil  press,  even 
now,  possibly,   recognizable  at  the  traditional  site.      The  un- 

'  Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern,  322,  by  Dr.  Bright. 
"  On  r.Traklete.  vide  Watkinson  St.  John,  appendix. 
3  See  especially  vers.  22  to  end. 


THK    DIVINT,   SACRIFICE.  I77 

speakable  horror  of  darkness  into  wliich  Cluisi's  soul  entered  is 
past  human  thought.  Soul  and  Body  could  not  have  endured 
the  strain  but  for  the  brief  respites  of  return  to  the  sleeping 
disciples,  and  the  more  strengtlit-ning  visit  of  one  pitiful  anjj^el. 
Here  we  are  in  the  deep  of  "  the  unknown  sufferings"  and  the 
dissection  of  such  incalculable  anguish  may  be  spared,  noting 
only  for  devotional  attention  the  agonizing  wrestle  of  th? 
human  soul  in  the  full  force  of  redemptive  desire,  the  absolute 
meek  submission  of  the  human  will  to  the  Father's  will,  the 
spiritual  and  inward  torture  pervading  even  the  whole  prostrate 
body  of  the  Divine  Son  of  Man. 

And  now  the  solemn  silence  of  the  garden  is  broken.  Nearer 
and  nearer  draws  the  hurrying  of  a  crowd,  the  tramp  of  armed 
feet,  a  confused  tumult  of  lights  and  arms  Hashing  through  the 
trees.  The  calm  words  of  the  Master,  Arise,  lei  us  go  hence, 
fall  clearly,  like  thunder  drops  before  a  storm,  on  the  ears  of 
the  aroused  sleeper.  ''  It  is  well  known  that  there  is  seldom 
any  strictly  defined  account  of  moments  such  as  these  and 
those  which  followed  it.  The  terrible  deed  is  accomplished  by 
one  stroke  after  another  ;  and  before  full  consciousness  of  the 
situation  could  be  attained,  Jesus  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
His  enemies."  '  "All  the  disciples  forsook  Him  and  fled  ;"  but 
one  young  man,  who  some  believe  to  be  Mark,  and  others 
Lazarus,  casting  his  sindon  about  him,  began  to  follow  Him,  only 
to  flee,  too,  leaving  his  garment  behind. 

The  Divine  Prisoner  is  led  to  Annas.  Annas,  like  all  the 
members  of  the  Temple  aristocracy,  was  a  Sadducee.  Doubtless 
the  vast  wealth  his  family  derived  from  their  famous  booths, 
and  the  cunning  intrigues  they  carried  on  with  the  Roman 
power,  won  the  High  Priesthood  for  Annas,  for  his  five  sons, 
for  his  son-in-law,  Caiaphas,  and  for  his  grandson.  The 
Pontificate  and  the  Temple  traffic  had  almost  become  a  mono- 
poly, "  and  the  family  of  Hanan  and  their  serpent  hissings  " 
were  accursed  of  the  people.  What  passed  between  Jesus  and 
the  anti-Messianic  leader  was  brief,  but  decisive.  The  High 
Triest  questioned  Jesus  about  His  disciples  and  His  doctrine 
(John  xviii.  19-23).  The  former  part  of  the  question  may  have 
been  directed  to  ascertain  what  social  or  political  support  He 
might  be  thought  to  count  upon.  The  preliminary  examination 
ivas  informal  and  private  and  was,  after  an  interval,  followed 

•  Weiss,  iii.  326. 
13 


I7o  JESUS   CHRIST. 

by  the  formal  examination  iDefove  Caiaphas.  All  discrepancies 
disappear  if,  as  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose,  Annas  had 
lodgings  in  the  official  residence  of  the  High  Priest,  Caiaphas, 
and  that  consequently  both  were  present  at  both  examinations- 
Two  of  the  disciples  had  soon  recovered  from  their  panic. 
John  obtained  entrance  into  the  inner  court.  Peter  stood  with- 
out, till  he  too  was  let  in  by  the  maid  who  kept  the  door.  John 
was  unnoticed,  and  had  perhaps  gone  to  the  upper  gallery,  in 
one  of  whose  apartments  the  prisoner  was  being  tii^d.  Peter 
mingled  with  the  crowd  of  menials  round  the  coal  fire,  which 
the  chillv  spring  night  made  welcome.  It  was  a  time  of  intense 
depression.  From  the  heavenly  altitudes  of  the  holy  Paschal 
communion  the  apostles  had  sunk  to  the  lowest  deeps  of 
sorrowing  disappointment.  Unnerved,  unstrung,  out  of  heart, 
borne  down  on  a  wave  of  violent  reaction,  without  any  sensible 
spiritual  support,  ihe  apostle  who  had  not  watched  in  the 
garden  and  prayed  in  the  hour  of  temptation  flinched  and  fell. 

At  the  first  flush  of  dawn  the  leading  priests,  elders,  and 
Sanhedrists  came  hurrying  to  the  High  Priest's  palace.  "Thus 
much,  at  least,  is  certain,  that  it  was  no  formal,  regular  meeting 
of  the  Sanhedrin.  All  Jewish  order  and  law  would  have  been 
grossly  infringed  in  almost  every  particular  if  this  had  been 
so."  *  Both  time  and  place  and  procedure  are  proof  of  this.  But 
it  was  the  expression  of  the  mind  and  will  of  the  Sanhedrists, 
the  official  leaders  of  the  people,  and  their  representatives. 
The  death  of  Christ  was  predetermined.  The  capital  sentence 
could  only  be  executed  by  the  Roman  power.  It  was  their 
work  to  establish  a  capital  charge.  The  false  witnesses  contra- 
dicted one  another.  At  last  two,  possibly  among  those  who 
had  suffered  loss  from  the  purifications  of  the  Temple,  arose 
and  perverted  the  Lord's  statement  about  destroying  the 
Temple,  yet  without  agreeing.  And  the  Lord  preserved  a 
merciful  silence,  like  the  long-suffering  voicelessness  of  God 
when  His  rights  are  trampled  on.  His  honour  outraged,  His 
love  scorned,  by  the  devil  born.  The  holy  dignity  of  the 
Prisoner,  and  the   confused   contradictions   of  the   witnesses, 

'The  other  alternatives  (Edersheim  and  others),  to  press  the  aorist, 
aTTiaTeiX'v  (John  xviii.  24),  into  a  pluperfect,  referring  to  verse  14,  and  to 
ignore  the  ouv  (Hort,  Tischendorf,  Gebhardt,  R.  V.),  or  omit  it  with 
Trcgelles,  is  too  violent. 

*  Edersheim,  ii.  557  foil.,  for  proofs. 


THE   DIVINE  SACRIFICE.  179 

drive  Caiaphas  to  his  last  stake.  He  must  put  the  question 
of  all  questions,  under  the  most  awful  sanction  possible,  in  the 
name  of  the  living  God  :  "Art  Thou  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  the 
living  God  ? "  The  two  questions  were  rightly  put  in  one.  Many- 
would  have  accepted  Jesus  as  a  Messiah  upon  their  own  terms. 
But  the  whole  of  Jesus'  Messianic  claim  was,  and  is,  indivisible 
from  His  assertion  of  His  Divinity.  The  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion was  as  unmistakable  as  it  was  solemn.  Question  and 
answer  still  ring  through  the  world,  and  leave  the  everlasting 
dilemma.  Is,  or  is  not,  Jesus  the  Divine  Christ?  Is  He  what 
He  said  He  was  ?  Or  was  He  a  liar  and  blasphemer  ?  If  the 
answer  of  Caiaphas  be  right.  His  death  and  execution  were 
right.  For  us,  apart  from  and  in  addition  to  other  currents  of 
evidence,  "  the  moral  and  spiritual  evidence  is  His  own  cha- 
racter, which  intentionally  overshadows  all  the  rest,  and  it  is 
inconceivable  that  He  should  have  made  a  false  claim."  ' 

The  scene  changes  from  palace  to  palace,  from  judge  to 
judge.  Whether  Pilate  occupied  the  palace  of  Herod  at  the 
north-western  angle  of  the  upper  city,  or  the  barracks  of  the 
castle  at  Antonia.,  is  a  question  still  in  debate  ;  but  the  balance 
of  opinion  favours  the  former  locality.  It  must  have  been 
about  five  or  six  in  the  morning  that  the  Sanhedrists  arrived  at 
the  gates  of  the  Prc-etorium,  and  refused  to  enter  in  because 
they  would  be  defiled  by  entering  a  heathen  dwelling,  and  so 
be  prevented  from  offering  and  eating  the  Chagigah.'  Here 
took  place  what  St.  John  describes  (xviii.  33-38,  and  St.  Li:ke 
xxiii.  2) — the  first  formal  civil  charge  against  the  Messiah, 
and  their  openly-expressed  resolution  to  have  Him  put  to 
death.  Pilate  was  not  unprepared  for  the  encounter.  He 
could  not  have  been  in  total  ignorance  of  so  notorious  a  move- 
ment, and  his  own  soldiers  had  been  called  out  ;  and  he  had 
the  insight  of  Jewish  experience  of  the  unscrupulous  Annas 
party.  The  message  from  his  wife  came  at  a  later  stage,  but 
may  have  been  the  emphatic  accent  of  a  repeated  warning. 
Certainly  Pilate  hesitated  even  in  the  face  of  so  seiious  a 
charge  as  that  of  Jesus'  aspiring  to  royalty.  Nor  could  the 
influence  of  the  Prisoner's  demeanour,  so  unlike  a  criminal's, 
so  gently  feariess,  so  noble  iu  transparent  innocence  and  wan 

•  Bp.  Temple,  "The  Relations  between  Religion  and  Science,"  p.  216. 

•  This  view  of  (pnyioaiv  to  TTa<y\a  (John  xviii.  28)  of  course  follows  upon 
that  of  regarding  the  Lord's  Supper  as  the  real  Paschal  supix;r. 


l8o  JESUS   CHRIST. 

dignity,  have  been  wholly  lost  upon  one  who  was  Roman 
enough  to  know  a  man,  and  whom  magisterial  and  Roman 
bias  would  have  prepossessed  in  favour,  not  in  disfavour,  of  an 
object  of  Rabbinical  odium.  Had  he  come  to  the  issue  with 
the  cleaner  hands  and  truer  heart  of  a  Cato  or  a  Cicero,  Pilate 
would  have  been  steadier  to  face  so  unexpected  and  over- 
whelming a  responsibility.  But  the  Son  of  Man  came  un- 
awares. Temptations  are  apt  to  mask  themselves  under  the 
guise  of  a  surprise,  which  the  ordinary  discharge  of  daily  duty 
would  have  forestalled  or  disarmed.  And  what  shreds  of 
rectitude  or  tenderness  of  honour  or  of  heart  were  left  to  one 
whose  offn  ial  career  had  been  one  long  murder,  whose  cruelty 
had  been  '"  unceasing  and  most  vexatious  "  ? '  Roman  statecraft 
of  the  best  was  unable  to  fathom  such  a  character  and  such  a 
[)ii]icy.  A  kingdom  of  truth,  not  of  this  world,  was  an  intan- 
gible, unpractical  idea  to  a  man  of  the  world,  much  more  to 
such  a  man  of  such  a  world.  It  was  a  far-ofif  Divine  idea  which 
a  practical,  business-like  officer  could  not  attach  any  workable 
meaning  to.  It  never  occurred  even  to  cynical  Pilate  that 
there  was  delusion  or  imposture.  Here  was  One  whose  every 
word  and  look  breathed  manly  dignity,  appealing  tenderness, 
and  reserved  force.  Here  was  no  slavish  cringing,  no  hot 
fanaticism,  no  stubborn  defiance.  Jesus  already  bore  the 
marks  of  cowardly  insult  ;  but  no  suspicion  of  a  quailing  spirit 
or  a  resentful  temper  lurked  under  the  open  grandeur  of  the 
Perfect  Sufferer.     While  Pilate  wavered, 

"  Letting  '  I  dare  not '  wait  upon  '  I  would,* " 

the  Storm  of  accusation  waxed  louder  and  fiercer,  and  the  man 
whose  root-motive  was  selfishness  dashed  with  expediency,  with 
all  the  power  of  Rome  at  his  back — 

"Parcere  subjectis,  et  debellare  superbos," 

quailed  before  those  who  never  turned  his  helpless  Prisoner  a 
hair's  breadth,  and  caught  at  the  word  Galilee  tossed  up  on  the 
surging  multitudinous  roar.  Let  the  Galilean  go  to  the  Galilean 
Tetrarch,  and  a  troublesome  case  be  got  rid  of,  and  a  politic 
compliment  paid  to  the  hostile  provincial  potentate  ! 

Another  figure  has  seen  afar  oflf  or  has  learnt  in  his  hiding- 

•  Philo. 


THE  DIVINE  SACRIFICE.  l8l 

place,  what  is  coming  to  Him  who  had  received  the  traitor's 
kiss.  The  pains  of  hell  have  gat  hold  of  him.  He  would  rid 
himself  of  the  accursed  wages. 

"  His  lust  and  greed 
Whom  thou  abettest  thou  dost  make  thine  own, 
And  nothing  gett'st  but  wages  of  thy  work 
To  pay  thy  sin.     What  !  is't  not  shame  on  shame 
Thou  pattest  thine  immortal  soul  to  sale 
For  prolit  of  another?  .  .  . 
Oh  soil  of  bad  men's  service  .  .  . 
Oh  curae  of  bad  men's  hire."  ' 

He  would  own  to  the  high  priests,  unmoved  as  the  rocky  walls 
of  the  Temple,  that  he  had  betrayed  innocent  blood.  But  the 
repentance  of  Judas  was  a  sorrow  of  this  world,  which  worketh 
death.  Away  from  the  Temple,  away  from  the  holy  city, 
away 

"Anywhere,  anywhere  out  of  the  world  !  "' 

In  the  old  palace  of  the  Asmonaeans  Jesus  confronted  Herod 
and  his  men  of  war.  Never  did  He  break  into  his  flippant 
volubility  with  a  word.  '"  Herod  was  provoked  by  the  obstinate 
silence  of  the  gentle  Galilean.  But  not  one  stripe  was  laid 
upon  His  shoulders  by  the  order  of  Antipas.  ...  He  had  had 
enough  of  murdering  prophets."  ^  Arrayed  in  the  mockery  of 
gorgeous  apparel,  possibly  purple,  or  a  candidate's  white  toga, 
the  Prisoner  was  remitted  to  Pilate  ;  and  the  Roman  again 
discovers  the  piteous  figure  of  Incarnate  Suffering  which  no 
caricature  could  unking  of  royalty. 

Pilate  has  not  yet  succeeded  in  shaking  off  the  impression 
made  by  his  Prisoner's  words  and  demeanour.  The  "  august 
authority  of  righteousness  "  cannot  have  been  unfelt  by  one 
trained  in  Roman  law.  He  was  not  wholly  unpenetrated  by 
"a  secret  worship  of  honour,  truth,  and  might."-*  His  con- 
science had  been  hardly  used,  but  not  destroyed.  His  repeated 
efforts  are  the  measure  of  its  mute  force,  and  his  unwonted 
scrupulosity  a  tribute  to  the  moral  ascendency  of  the  humi- 
liated  and   insulted   Prisoner.     It   would   be   difficult   in   any 

»  Sir  H.  Taylor,  "  Philip  van  Artevelde."  *  T.  Hood. 

3  Bp.  Alexander,  "The  Great  (Question,"  p.  174. 
■♦  Martineau,  "A  Study  of  Religion,"  i.  21. 


l82  JESUS   CHRIST. 

calculus  of  guilt  to  place  a  Pilate  as  low  as  a  Judas  or  a 
Caiaphas.  Our  Lord  Himself  judicially  differentiates  them. 
Pilate  was  an  indifferentist,  Judas  an  apostate  traitor,  Caiaphas 
high  priest  to  the  devil. 

Pilate  again  endeavours  to  release  Him  after  a  special 
summons  of  the  Sanhedrisrs  and  the  populace.  He  tries 
another  shift.  But  from  one  centre  he  can  never  move.  His 
Sasal  principle  is  self-servient  expediency,  and  no  power  in 
heaven  or  earth  can  unseat  it.  He  will  not  now  unconditionally 
release  a  Prisoner  whose  innocence  he  admits  as  expressly  as 
he  knows  the  envy  which  moved  His  adversaries.  He  offers 
them  an  alternative.  He  will  try  and  shift  the  responsibility  to 
their  shoulders.  Bar-Abbas  or  Jesus  ?  The  kingdom  of  truth 
was  a  visionary  empire.  To  the  kingdom  of  justice  Pilate 
pronounces  himself  as  strange.  Nor  were  his  effortless  efforts 
without  moral  support.  His  wife's  dream  startled  a  conscience 
open  to  fear.  A  minority  of  the  crowd  desired  the  release  of 
Jesus,  but  obduracy,  and  hatred  were  the  stronger  power  ;  the 
voices  of  the  high-priestly  party  prevailed. 

"  Once  more.  If  Pilate  cannot  move  the  Jews  to  a  sense  of 
justice  (and  how  should  he,  when  setting  them  an  example  of 
injustice?),  or  even  to  self-respect  (and  how  should  he,  when 
neglecting  to  respect  his  own  authority  ?),  he  may  yet  move 
them,  as  he  thinks,  to  pity.  .  .  .  He  will  fulfil  half  their  wish  ; 
he  will  execute  part  of  their  vengeance.  He  will  torment  Jesus, 
but  stop  short  of  destroying  Him.  '  The  tender  mercies  of  the 
wicked  are  cruel.'  He  bids  Jesus  to  be  scourged,  and  it  is 
done.  Torn,  bleeding,  crowned  with  thorns,  in  purple  rags, 
amid  scorn  and  shouting,  Pilate  brings  Him  forth.  'Behold 
the  Man  !  '  The  sight  awakens  no  compassion  ;  only  a  tenfold 
storm  of  wrath."* 

But  the  varying  details  of  the  Divine  tragedy  call  for  larger 
and  stronger  colours  than  the  few  bare  outlines  possible  here  ;  and 
we  hurry  on  with  hushed  steps  and  penitential  spirit  to  the  last 
scene,  leaving  the  majesty  of  the  Gospel  accounts  undisturbed 
in  their  controlled  reticence,  pathetic  in  speech  and  silence, 
with  the  impress  of  Him  at  whose  feet  they  are  written. 

'1  he  record  of  the  last  scene  of  the  Passion  owes  several  dis- 
tincti\e  particulars  to  one  who  was,  of  part  at  least,  an  eye- 

*  Rp.  Milnian,  "  Love  of  the  Atonement,"  where  a  most  spiritual 
account  of  the  Passion  is.  to  be  found.     Cl.  Wcstcoti,  Jolin,  sj. 


THE    DIVINE   SACRIFICE.  183 

witness  and,  so  far  as  a  man  could  be,  a  fellow-sufferer.  St. 
John's  account  is  first-hand.  Along  the  Way  of  Sorrows  to  the 
place  of  execution  outside  the  gate,  like  His  own  apostles'  at 
Rome,  nigh  to  the  city,  Jesus  goes.  Golgotha  may  have  been 
rightly  identified  with  the  rounded  knoll  near  Jeremiah's 
Grotto,  just  outside  the  present  "  Damascus* gate."  But  the 
excavation  of  the  newly-discovered  wall  must  be  completed 
before  opinion  can  utter  its  last  word.  The  knoll  is  higher 
than  the  sacred  rock  of  the  Temple.  "  A  sort  of  amphitheatre 
is  formed  by  the  gentle  slopes  on  the  west  ;  and  the  whole 
population  of  the  city  might  easily  witness  from  the  vicinity 
anything  taking  place  on  the  top  of  the  cliff.  The  knoll  is  just 
beside  the  main  north  road."*  "The  hill  is  now  quite  bare, 
with  scanty  grass  covering  its  rocky  soil."  ^  It  has  been  dis- 
covered to  be  the  traditional  place  of  stoning.  And  the  proba- 
bility of  the  identification  gains  gi'ound.  It  is  generally  agreed 
that  it  was  the  usual  place  of  execution.  And  so  Jesus  identiiied 
Himself  with  criminals  in  the  mystery  of  His  representative 
sacrifice  in  the  very  place  as  well  as  mode  of  punishment. 

Around  the  Cross  the  world  was  grouped  by  representation. 
For  at  the  Passover  members  of  all  nations,  faiths,  cultures, 
gathered.  The  Paschal  Supper  was  over,  and  the  Jews  had 
leisure  for  a  spectacle  of  momentous  interest  to  all  who  had 
heard  of  the  Messianic  claims  of  Jesus.  How  many  of  the 
converts  of  Pentecost  and  after  were  actual  spectators  ;  how 
many  of  the  pitiful  daughters  of  Jerusalem  gathered  round  the 
stricken  group  of  holy  women  ;  how  many  children  who  cried 
Hosanna,  but  never  Crucify ;  how  many  devout  disciples  of 
the  Baptist,  or  taught  of  them  ;  how  many  Gentiles  convicted 
of  righteousness  like  the  centurion  of  the  Cross  ;  how  many 
priests  unforgetful  of  type  and  shadow,  of  sacrifice  and  pro- 
phesy, and  specially  impressed  with  the  rending  of  the  Temple 
Veil  ;  how  many  awestruck  by  the  physical  wonders  to  a  sense  of 
the  supersensible  and  the  eternal  Power  ;  how  many,  in  short, 
the  Son  of  Man  lifted  up  began  to  draw  to  Himself,  and  pre- 
pare for  the  victorious  ingress  of  the  Spirit,  and  His  own  in- 
visible return — is  written  only  in  the  archives  of  the  angels  and 
the  spiritual  histories  of  the  conquering  travail  of  Christ. 

»  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul. 

»  "Survey  "  ;  and  Henderson,  "  Palestine,"  p.  164. 

3  "  Cruise  of  the  Bacchante,"  ii.  586. 


l84  JESUS   CHRIST. 

Two  groups  stand  out  f«)m  the  Cross  with  intense  vividness 
of  contrast  ;  the  heart  of  the  Messianic  and  the  heart  of  the 
anti-Messianic  parties  ;  the  children  of  h'ght  fellow-suffering, 
the  children  of  darkness  rejoicing.  The  mother  with  the  sword 
passing  through  her  heart  in  incomparable  anguish,  the  beloved 
apostle,  the  holy  women.  And  within  their  sight  and  hearing 
and  His  the  sti"ll-scoffing.  evilly-rejoicing  Caiaphas  and  Annas 
party,  the  elect  of  the  Wicked  One.  It  was,  and  is,  the  eternal 
touchstone  ;  the  rock  of  faith  or  of  offence,  where  the  waves  of 
good  and  evil  meet  in  eternal  conflict. 

The  Seven  sacred  Words  from  the  Cross  are  each  and 
altogether  an  organic  whole.  The  intercession  of  the  High 
Priest,  the  royal  pardon  and  the  absolution  of  the  High  Priest, 
the  filial  love  of  the  Son  of  Mary,  the  brotherly  love  of  the 
Friend  of  friends,  the  bodily  and  spiritual  thirst  of  the  Son  of 
Man,  the  forsakenness  of  the  atoning  Sin-bearer,  the  finished 
work  of  the  Divine  Apostle  and  Victim  and  Mediator,  the  final 
farewell  when  the  human  soul  passed  on  its  journey  to  the  Father's 
hands,  and  the  weary  Head  bowed  itself  on  His  Father's  bosom. 
Alike  of  each  word,  and  of  every  word  and  work  of  Christ  it 
may  be  equally  said,  "  It  is  finished."  For  nothing  broken,  frag- 
mentary, incomplete,  in  the  wrong  time,  place,  or  manner,  was 
thought,  said,  or  done  by  the  Perfect  Man.  Nothing  of  Mes- 
sianic fore-ideals  had  been  unfulfilled  by  the  Messiah.  Every- 
thing was  timed  to  a  second,  and  finished  to  a  hair.  And 
round  the  broken  fragments  of  broken  hours,  broken  lives, 
broken  thoughts,  broken  prayers,  in  Nature  and  in  human 
nature,  is  wrapped  the  blood-stained  mantle  of  the  perfect 
righteousness  of  the  High  Priest  of  both. 

When  we  ask  the  wherefore  of  so  stupendous  a  Sacrifice, 
gleams  of  light  break  from  the  fountains  of  revealed  truth,  but 
partial  only.  We  know  that  the  Cross  revealed  God's  love, 
God's  righteousness,  God's  holiness,  God's  truth.  It  was  man's 
necessity,  man's  need,  that  drew  the  Son,  a  willing  Sacrifice  for 
life  and  death,  from  the  bosom  of  the  Father.  God  was  in 
Christ  reconciling  the  world  to  Himself.  "The  human  blood 
of  the  Eternal  God  was  the  ransom  paid  to  God  for  our 
eternal  redemption  from  the  curse  of  the  Law  and  from  the 
wrath  of  God,  and  from  the  claims  of  Satan,  and  from  the  power 
of  sin." '  "How  His  life  and  death  and  resurrection  accomplished 
'  Canon  Evf  ns  on  i  Cor.  vi.  20. 


THE    DIVINL   SACRIFICE.  185 

our  salvation,  what  share  they  each  or  all  together  had  in 
making  Him  our  propitiation  they  (the  creeds)  tell  us  not. 
They  teach  an  Atonement ;  but  theory  of  Atonement,  God  be 
praised,  they  give  us  none." ' 

Looking  upon  the  Atonement  in  its  practical  result  as  a 
spiritual  dynamic,  it  *'  stamps  upon  the  mind  with  a  power,  with 
which  no  other  fact  could,  the  righteousness  of  God.  To  trifle 
with  a  Being  who  has  demanded  this  Sacrifice  is  madness,  and 
hence  arises  awe :  but  from  the  acceptance  of  the  Atonement 
arises  the  love  of  God."*  The  love  and  fear  of  God  actuated 
men  before  the  Atonement  in  Israel.  The  fear  of  God  was  the 
supreme  practical  religious  virtue  of  the  old  Covenant.  The 
righteous  man  feared  God.  The  love  of  God  breathes  in  the 
Psalter,  and  in  the  highest  visions  of  the  Prophets  breaks 
through  the  stormy  voices  like  the  clear  shining  after  rain  with 
the  promise  of  brighter  morrows.  And  the  fear  of  God  or 
Gods  is  the  dominant  religious  motive  of  non-Christian  religions. 
The  Atonement  has  deepened  the  fear  of  God,  and  set  it  upon 
a  more  intelligible  basis  ;  the  love  of  God  the  thought  of  the 
Crucified  has  not  only  made  an  infinitely  real  conception,  but 
inconceivably  the  strongest  active  principle  and  inspiring 
motive  of  all  Christian  life  Godward  and  manward.  "  For  if 
when  we  were  enemies  we  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death 
of  His  Son,  much  more  being  reconciled  we  shall  be  saved  by 
His  life"  (Rom.  v.  lo.).  "  From  that  event  dates  his  ^  adoption, 
his  glorious  liberty,  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life,  the  witness  of 
that  Spirit  in  his  own  heart,  the  expectation  of  that  glory  which 
shall  be  revealed  in  him,  and  the  gift  of  eternal  life."-*   From  that 

"  Fountain  filled  with  blood  " 

have  flowed  the  countless  streams  of  Christian  self-devotion  ; 
from  that  Sacrifice  all  other  sacrifices  have  derived  their  moral 
strength  and  substance  ;  from  that  blood-shedding  "all  sacra- 
ments, all  prayers,  all  authoritative  words  of  pardon,  all  sancti- 
fying works  of  mercy,  draw  whatever  they  have  of  power  or 
virtue," "    To  suppose  that  all    that  has   been  consciously  or 

'  Bp.  Magee,  "The  Atonement,"  p.  iii. 

•  Dr.  Mozley,  Bampton  Lecture,  vii.  p.  139.  3  /.f.,  man's. 

*  Dr.  Liddon,  "  University  Sermons,"  i.  p.  246,  "The  Divine  Victim."' 


l86  JESUS   CHRIST. 

unconsciously,  directly  or  indirectly,  based  upon  and  sanctioned 
by  the  Atonement  is  based  upon  and  sanctioned  by  a  delusion 
which  would  be  criminal,  or  a  "  legend  of  pity ''  which  would 
be  fictitious,  is  an  outrage  to  the  soberest  human  reason,  the 
deepest  human  piety,  the  tenderest  human  love,  and  the 
strongest  human  lives. 

"  Upon  the  ground 
That  in  the  story  had  been  found 
Too  much  love  !     How  could  God  love  so?''  • 

'  R.  Browning,  -'Easter  Day," 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   DIVINE   SABBATH. 

"Where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary  are  at  rest." 

Tennyson,  from  Job  iii.  17. 

The  marred  Body — The  Soul  free  among  the  dead^Easter  Eve. 

Evening  was  approaching,  and  with  it  the  Sabbath  and  the 
second  Paschal  Day.  St.  John  had  escorted  the  mother,  and 
perhaps  the  other  women  with  her,  to  his  own  home,  and 
returned  in  time  to  see  the  dead  Body  of  the  Lord  still  hanging 
and  the  soldier  drive  his  spear  deep  into  His  side.  Suffering 
is  the  best  teacher.  Latent  or  recognized  truths  flash  into 
light  and  burning  reality.  Then  and  there  he  saw  the  Messianic 
fulfilments  of  type  and  prophecy  in  the  pierced  form  with  bone 
unbroken.  Then  and  there  Joseph  of  Arimathea  was  lifted 
from  a  secret  to  an  open  disciple  ;  Nicodemus  from  a  night 
seeker  to  a  day-believer.  Reverently  the  two  Sanhedrists  bear 
the  marred  Body  to  Joseph's  new  rock-hewn  tomb  hard  by,  and 
lay  it  in  one  of  the  niches  (Kukhin).  Many  of  these  have  been 
excavated  and  described,  and  it  is  yet  possible '  that  the  very 
one  which  sheltered  the  Body  may  be  found.  Present  opinion 
is  divided  between  the  Holy  Sepulchre  and  a  spot  near  the 
Damascus  Gate.  The  opening  of  the  whole  course  of  the  newly- 
discovered  wall  will  throw  light  on  the  problem,  and  if  the  wall 
run  outside  the  present  "  Holy  Sepulchre  "  negative  the  tra- 
dition which  gives  it  its  name,  if  within,  confirm  it.  There 
was  the  Body  of  the  Divine  Sufferer  left  in  lonely  repose,  guarded 
by  a  great  sealed  stone,  and  apparently  all  through  the  Sabbath 
day  of  rest  by  a  detachment  of  Roman  soldiers. 
'  "  Twenty-One  Years,"  p.  62  foil. 


l88  JESUS  CHRIST. 

And  whither,  happy  Soul,  free  among  the  dead  didst  Thou 
go?  What  parts  of  Sheol  didst  Thou  traverse  in  triumph? 
Were  the  Antediluvians  the  only  hearers  of  Thy  proclama- 
tion ?  Or  rather  not  all  the  dead  ?'  Did  not  Moses  and  Elias 
who  had  been  with  Thee  at  the  Mountain  of  Transfiguration  to 
speak  of  Thine  Exodus  now  greet  Thee  ;  and  Abraham,  and  ir 
Abraham,  Abraham's  children,  exult  to  see  Thy  day?  Thou 
alone  knowest,  who  didst  descend  into  Hades  and  hast  the 
keys  of  death  and  of  Hades  ! 

Silence  and  darkness  fell  around  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  Silence 
and  darkness  lay  over  the  hearts  and  homes  of  the  mourners  in 
Zion.  But  the  love,  the  force,  the  work,  the  truth  lost  to  the 
earth  was  gained  by  the  other  world.  And  those  who  were 
asleep  in  death  and  had  laid  them  down  to  the  long  rest  in  their 
hope  full  of  immortality  had  not  gone  to  utter  destruction,  but 
were  in  the  hand  of  God.  They  were  in  peace,  and  to  them 
the  Peacemaker  came.  So  the  energies  of  human  love  and 
blessed  endeavour  are  not  spent  shot,  but  transmutable  to 
"unimpeded  activities,'"'  beatifying  and  beatified,  in  the  brighter 
and  more  populous  half  of  the  one  kingdom.  Such  is  the 
teaching  of  the  physical  analogies.  Energy  passes  off  to  other 
transmigrations.  Nothing  is  lost.  The  departed  soul  enriches 
another  kingdom,  and  increases  its  working  power — the  king- 
dom of  light  or  the  princedom  of  darkness. 

Nor  has  the  ni^ht  of  Easter  Eve  been  unremembered  by 
Christian  devotion.  It  has  been  a  night  vocal  with  praise.  It 
has  been  the  night  celebrated  by  such  accents  of  adoration  as 
these : — 

"  It  is  very  meet  and  right,  with  all  powers  of  heart  and  mind, 
and  with  the  service  of  the  lips,  to  praise  the  invisible  God, 
the  Father  Almighty,  and  His  only  begotten  Son  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  paid  the  debt  of  Adam  for  us  to  the  Eternal 
father,  and  effaced  the  bond  of  the  ancient  guilt  by  the  blood 
poured  forth  in  loving-kindness.  For  this  is  the  Paschal 
leslival  in  which  that  true  Lamb  is  slain,  and  the  door-posts 
hallowed  by  His  blood  :  in  which  first  Thou  didst  brmg  our 
lathers,  the  children  of  Israel,  out  of  Egypt,  and  madest  them 
ij  pass  over  the  Red  Sea  dry-shod.  This,  then,  is  the  night 
which  now  throughout  the  world  restores  to  grace  and  unites 

'   I  Peter  iv.  6  (?'.  C.  Cook,  s.  /.).         -  Anstoil",  X.Fth.,  vii.,  xii.  3,  &c. 


THE   DIVINE   SABDATH.  189 

to  holiness  believers  in  Christ,  separated  from  worldly  vice?  and 
from  the  gloom  of  sin.  This  is  the  night  in  which  Christ  broke 
the  bonds  of  death,  and  ascended  a  Conqueror  from  the  grave. 
For  to  be  born  had  been  no  blessing  to  us,  unless  we  could 
have  been  redeemed.  O  the  wondrous  condescension  of  Thy 
loving-kindness  towards  us  !  O  the  inestimable  tenderness  of 
Thy  love  !  To  redeem  the  servant,  Thou  gavest  up  the  Son. 
This  holy  night,  then,  puts  to  flight  offences,  washes  away  sins, 
and  restores  innocence  to  the  fallen,  and  joyousness  to'the  sad. 
O  truly  blessed  night,  which  spoiled  the  Egyptians  and  enriched 
the  Hebrews — the  night  in  which  heaven  and  earth  are  recon- 
ciled !  We  pray  Thee  therefore,  O  Lord,  that  Thou  wouldest 
preserve  Thy  servants  in  the  peaceful  enjoyment  of  this  Easter 
happiness,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." ' 

That  night  has  been  a  "watch  night"  to  many  hearts  who 
look  for  the  uprising  of  the  Resurrection  morning,  and  listen  for 
the  trumpet  blast  of  the  Resurrection  Angel. 

■  Ancient  Gregorian  prayer  preserved  in  Bright's  ''Ancient  Collects," 
P-  52- 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  RESURRECTION   AND  THE   FORTY  DAYS. 

"  Thou  know'st  He  died  not  for  Himself,  nor  for  Himself  arose  : 
Millions  of  souls  were  in  His  heart,  and  thee  for  one  He  chose. 
Upon  the  palms  of  His  pierc'd  hand  engraven  was  thy  name, 
He  for  thy  cleansing  had  prepar'd  His  water  and  His  flame." 

].  Keble,   "  IvVra  Innocentium,"  "  Easter  Day." 

Trjv  ^u}i](p6pov  avaaraaiv. 

CuRYSOSTOM  in  Princip.,  Act  vi. 

The  Resurrection — Magdalena  dolorosa — The  Resurrection  unexpected,  a 
Divine  must  be — Emmaus — Appearance  to  the  eleven  apostles  and 
other  brethren — Differentiation  of  offices — Doubter  Thomas — Messianic 
critical  difficulties — Celsus's  objection — Vir-ion  hypothesis  —  Galilee 
again — The  fishers  on  the  sea  again — All  authority — Undetailed  ap- 
pearances— The  great  Forty  Days — Divine  organization — Development 
of  order — Development  of  faith — Continuity,  both  of  soul  and  body — 
The  four  distinct  Evangelic  reports. 

The  darkness,  but  not  the  silence,  was  burst  when  the  angel 
of  the  Resurrection  came  to  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  God's 
mightiest  physical  agencies  are  silent. 

"  There  is  neither  speech  nor  lauguage  "  (Psa.  xix.  3) 

and  His  spiritual  activities  are  for  the  most  part  inaudible  here 
as  the  songs  of  angels. 

One  human  being  was  the  meeting-point  between  heaven 
and  earth,  the  instrument  of  the  Incarnation.  No  human  eye 
witnessed  the  Resurrection.  Out  of  the  guilty  sleeping  city  stole 
a  little  band  of  women  like  shadows.  By  the  time  Mary 
Magdalene,  ''last  at  the  cross,  firs    at  the  grave,'  had  reached 


THE   RESURRECTION    AND   THE    FORTY    DAYS.  I91 

the  rock-hewn  sepulchre,  the  light  had  flashed  over  the  eastern 
sea,  and  the  Lord  had  risen.  She  hurries  back  from  the  un- 
tenanted tomb,  and  her  companions  reach  the  spot  and  see  an 
angel.  "In  their  affliction  they  will  seek  Me  early"  (Hosea 
V.  15).  St.  Luke  may  be  describing  another  and  later  party 
which  sees  two  angels.  The  two  apostles  arrive  and  see  the 
threefold  sign,  the  stone  removed,  the  sepulchre  empty,  the 
grave  clothes  in  order.  The  writer  records  his  eye-witness  and 
his  belief.  His  was  the  first  act  of  faith.  It  w;is  a  germ  which 
bore  the  fruit  of  knowledge.  To  know'  was  the  end  of  the 
Johannine  creed. 

After  the  running  apostles  Mary  Magdalene  returns  untold 
or  unconvinced.  The  angels  comfort  her  not.  Only  when  He 
calls  her  by  name  does  the  penitent  recognize  her  Saviour.  The 
first  to  see  the  risen  Lord  is  the  most  blessed  of  them  that 
mourn.  Soon  after,  as  it  seems,  He  goes  forward  to  meet  the 
returning  company  of  women  and  reveals  Himself,  and  charges 
the  brethren  to  go  to  Galilee  and  await  Him. 

Several  points  call  for  attention.  Not  one  soul  expected  the 
Resurrection.  The  fact  is  not  creditable  to  the  disciples,  and 
certainly  prejudices  in  favour  of  the  honesty  of  the  report. 
Their  Messianic  belief  was  derived  from  two  sources,  their 
Jewish  preconceptions  and  Christ's  teaching.  Their  Jewish 
preconceptions  were  partly  Scriptural,  partly  traditional.  In 
the  Old  Testament  they  had  not  noticed  the  types  and  figures 
or  direct  prophecies,  which  Christian  light  afterwards  illumi- 
nated. Extra  Scriptural  Jewish  thought  less  increased  than 
diminished  any  belief  in  a  Messianic  resurrection.  The  notion 
of  a  pre-existent  Messiah  was  vague  and  colourless  at  the  best, 
and  such  as  it  was,  supplied  no  basis  whatever  for  belief  in  a 
return  to  life. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  how  any  honest  mind  can  shake  off  the 
impression  of  transparent  veracity  and  artless  truth  to  nature 
in  the  fourfold  narrative.  The  faith  of  the  disciples  was  at  its 
lowest  pressure.  The  grief,  the  surprise,  the  indignation,  the 
physical  pain,  which  overwhelmed  them  on  Friday  stifled  hope. 
The  Lord's  promises  were  forgotten,  crowded  out  by  the  stress 
and  storm  of  present  affliction.  Great  grief  has  no  past  or 
future.  It  is  all  present,  overwhelming,  catastrophic.  The 
sutiferings  and  death  of  Christ  were  the  greatest  trial  the  dis- 

'  (  f.  i.  F.p.  pnxsiiii. 


192  JESUS  CHRIST. 

ciples  ever  underwent.  Not  only  did  they  suffer  with  Him, 
drink  His  cup  of  shame  and  ignominy,  sorrow  in  His  sorrow, 
not  only  were  they  baffled,  beaten,  defeated  as  a  party,  di- 
spirited, disintegrated  as  a  body,  not  only  were  they  wounded 
in  their  tenderest  affections,  but  their  Messianic  beliefs  and 
hopes  were  assailed  at  all  points.  The  more  heartily  they 
believed  in  His  Messiahship  the  more  difficult  and  disap- 
pointing did  the  end  seem.  The  further  they  had  reached  in 
acceptance  of  the  mystery  of  His  Divinity,  the  greater  did  the 
mystery  of  His  suffering  humanity  seem.  That  their  Messianic 
prejudices  had  not  died  the  long  death  of  mistake  is  abund- 
antly apparent.  The  shock  to  their  faith  might  have  been 
overwhelming  had  the  Lord  not  risen  again.  The  Resurrection 
was  the  final  and  conclusive,  but  not  the  only,  proof  of  His 
Divinity.  By  it  He  vindicated  His  claims,  fulfilled  His 
promises,  verified  His  words.  Without  it  His  life  might  have 
been  regarded  as  a  magnificent  dream,  and  an  unparalleled 
venture  of  heroism.  With  it  His  life  descends  into  the  regions 
of  i-ound  reason  and  verifiable  fact.  The  Resurrection  "should 
not  perhaps  have  been  necessary.  The  loftiness  and  purity  and 
humility  of  His  character  should  have  been  enough  to  prove 
that  He  only  spoke  what  was  true." '  But  there  are  many  aspects 
to  the  Divine  "  must  be."  Among  the  many  human  necessities 
of  the  Divine  "  must  "  here  was  one.^  The  moral  and  spiritual 
resurrection  followed  naturally  and  inevitably.  Atter  the  shock 
the  recovery  was  instantaneous  and  absolute.  Henceforward 
Christian  conviction  stood  upon  unassailable  ground,  and  trans- 
mits itself  by  its  own  inherent  force.  The  evidential  power  of 
the  Resurrection  stands  its  ground.  Upon  it  is  built  the  whole 
historic  fabric  of  Christianity.  Invalidate  that  evidence  and 
Christianity  is  dead. 

All  the  appearances  are  not  recorded  in  detail.  There  was 
one  revelation  incidentally  mentioned  by  St.  Luke,  and  at  an 
earlier  date  by  St.  Paul  (i  Cor.  xv.  5),  which  a  legendary  writer 
could  not  have  failed  to  embellish.  He  appeared  to  Cephas. 
This  was  before  the  evening  appearance  to  the  Twelve.     Who 

•  Stanton,  p.  253. 

'  Cf.  St.  Bernard  on.  the  Atonement,  in  his  wonderful  letter,  "Deerroribus 
Abrelardi,"  Tom.  ii.,  Opusc.  xi.,  Ep.  cxc,  ch.  viii.,  f  19.  "  Respondemus  ; 
Necessitris  nostra  fuit,  et  necessitas  dura  sedentibus  in  tenebris  et  umbra 
mortis.    Opus  asque  nostrum,  et  Dei  nosiri,  el  Nanctorum   An^"'  orum,"  &c 


THE   RESURRECTION   AND   THE    FORTY   DAYS.  I93 

would  not  be  glad  to  know  what  words,  or  speaking  silence, 
passed  at  that  interview  ? 

The  Lord's  self-manifestation  to  the  two  disciples  on  the  way 
to  Emmaus  is  related  with  some  minuteness  by  St.  Luke.  He 
would  "travel  with  the  travellers,"  to  adopt  the  words  of 
ancient  liturgical  prayer.  Of  the  two  disciples  one  was  Cleopas, 
the  other  may  have  been  the  narrator  himself.  Either  they 
had  not  heard  at  first  hand,  or  had  not  fully  credited,  the 
tidings  that  the  Lord  had  really  and  indeed  risen.  Their  state 
of  downcast  ignorance  and  disappointed  half  hope  evidently 
represented  the  mental  and  spiritual  condition  of  many  of  the 
faithful  in  Jerusalem,  as  the  first  undulations  of  the  report 
reached  them,  and  required  the  confirmation  of  the  Lord's 
Person  to  carry  conviction. 

St.  Matthew,  the  writer  of  the  Jewish  Gospel,  naturally  gives 
the  Jewish  version  of  the  Resurrection.  It  was  the  authorized 
anti- Messianic  version  ;  he  may  have  often  heard  and  answered 
it  by  the  appeal  to  personal  testimony.  The  high  priests  and 
elders  bribed  the  soldiers  to  say  that  the  disciples  came  and  stole 
the  Body  away  while  the  guards  slept.  It  is  surprising  that 
any  revivals  of  this  story  could  have  found  credit  since;  it 
would  seem  a  far  more  reasonable  hypothesis  altogether  to  deny 
the  fact  by  discrediting  the  witnesses.  But  the  difficulties  of 
unbelief  are  greater  than  those  of  belief,  and  labour  under  the 
superincumbent  addition  of  the  contradictory  theories,  clashing 
hypotheses,  and  changing  no-creeds,  which  confront  the  un- 
changing and  unchangeable  faith  of  Christendom  in  a  risen  and 
living  Christ. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  Resurrection  another  appearance  of 
the  Lord  took  place.  Much  interesting  discussion  of  the  site 
of  Emmaus  has  taken  place  in  the  columns  of  the  Quarterly 
Journal  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Society,  and  various 
identifications  have  been  suggested.  St.  Luke's  careful  note  of 
its  distance,  si.xty  furlongs,  negatives  the  identification  with 
the  Emmaus,  afterwards  Nicopolis,  now  Amwas,  which  is  one 
hundred  and  sixty  furlongs  distant.  The  alternative  lies  be- 
tween three:  (i)  Khurbet  el  Khamasa,  "the  ruins  of  Khamasa," 
"fiom  the  Arabic  Hammath."  It  lies  close  beside  "one  of 
the  ancient  roads  leading  from  the  capital  to  the  plain  near 
Beit  Jibrin,"' '  and  is  distant  eight  miles  from  the  capital. 
•  "  Survey,"  iii.  36  and  foil. 
14 


194  JESUS  CHRIST. 

Ancient  rock-cut  sepulchres  and  a  causeway  mark  the  site  as 
being  of  considerable  antiquity,  and  the  vicinity  is  still  remark- 
able for  its  fine  supply  of  spring  water.'  But  springs  do  not 
necessarily  suggest  the  "hot  spring"  (Khammath)  or  ''  medici- 
nal spring,"  implied  by  its  name  ;  and  the  identification  is  open 
to  this  objection.  (2)  El  Kubeibeh,  the  Crusaders'  Emmaus,is 
situate  sixty  stades  north-west  of  Jerusalem.  This  site  is 
supported  by  the  proximity  of  Kolonieh,  i.e.,  Colonia.  As 
Josephus  mentions  the  plantation  of  a  military  colony  of  eight 
hundred  Roman  soldiers  at  Emmaus,  the  retention  of  the  name, 
in  addition  to  that  of  El  Hummam  hard  by,  constitutes  a  strong 
claim.  The  still-existing  ruin  Beit-Mizza,  near  Kolonieh,  may 
represent  the  "Ammaous"  of  Josephus  ("Amosa"  of  the 
Septuagint ;  Ham-Motsah,  Hebrew),  "and  be  the  southernmost 
trace-  of  the  old  name"^  of  the  district,  as  Josephus  calls  it. 
(3)  Urtas,-*  in  the  valley  of  Etham,  near  Bethlehem,  a  possible 
corruption  of  Hortus.  At  present  the  second  alternative  seems 
the  one  which  combines  most  of  the  lines  of  identification. 

The  conversation  of  Christ  with  the  two  bears  all  the  internal 
marks  of  genuineness.  It  is  natural,  it  is  simple.  It  is  just  a 
Bible  lesson  which  the  unknown  Stranger  gives.  They  ought 
not  to  have  required  the  detailed  explanations  of  prophecy. 
They  ought  to  have  remembered,  or  others  ought  to  have 
remembered  and  reminded  them,  of  the  Lord's  own  repeated 
prediction  of  His  Passion  and  His  Resurrection.  As  the 
Passion  had  taken  place,  they  should  have  been  the  readier  to 
believe  in  the  Resurrection.  But  Scripture  does  not  idealize 
its  characters  like  ancient  myths  or  modern  novels.  They  had 
to  unlearn  so  much  before  they  knew  their  own  Scriptures. 
"  Even  in  the  case  of  the  few  who  believed  in  Him,  faith  was 
not  the  effect  of  the  proof  from  prophecy.  Believers  did  not 
first  study  the  prophecies,  and  then  come  to  Jesus  as  disciples  ; 
they  first  came  to  Jesus,  and  then  learnt  how  to  interpret 
the  prophecies.  The  proper  interpretation  of  prophecy  was 
not  the  cause,  but  the  effect,  of  their  faith."  ^  What  was 
true  of  prophecy  in  its  strict  sense  was  true  of  the  underlying 
prophetic  and  priestly  element  of  all  the  old  Covenant  revela* 

'  *'  Twenty-one  Years,"  p.  120.  ^  Being  only  four  miles  off. 

3  Rev.  R.  F.  Hutchinson  .tnd  Rev.  A.  Henderson. 

♦  Mrs.  Finn  and  Rev.  P.  Mearns. 

s  Dr.  .\.  R.  Bruce,  "The  Cliicl  End  of  Revelation,"  p.  257. 


THE    RESURRECTION    AND    THE    FORTV    DAYS.  I95 

tion  in  its  Messianic  relation.  Ihe  kingly  element  had  been 
better  understood,  but  distorted  and  secularized.  The  explana- 
tions given  by  St.  Peter  notably,  and  the  other  disciples,  of 
which  the  Acts  gives  us  but  bare  outlines,  and  suggestive 
specimens,  were  doubtless  grounded  upon  the  Bible  lessons 
they  had  personally  received  from  Christ,  before  and,  more 
especially,  after  the  Resurrection,  when  His  whole  earthly 
time  was  taken  up,  not  in  mighty  works,  not  in  preaching  to 
the  masses,  but  in  instruction  of  His  believers  in  the  things 
pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  God.  Before  the  Resurrection 
the  disciples  had  but  imperfect  appreciation  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. In  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  resurrection  which 
followed  upon  that  of  the  Messiah  the  whole  of  God's  dealings 
became  illuminated  ;  and  the  older  inspiration  was  Targumed 
in  the  fulness  of  its  Messianic  wealth. 

Such  re-revelations  of  old  truths  renewed,  but  not  under- 
stood till  a  living  voice,  or  a  new  inspiration,  had  interpreted, 
enforced,  and  cleared  up,  is  not  without  many  parallels  in  the 
history  of  the  Church  and  of  the  individual.  The  struggles  of 
the  first  four  Christian  centuries  involved  a  constant  return  to 
old  truths,  re-reading  of  familiar  but  unperceived  or  unformu- 
lated doctrines.  And  in  the  spiritual  histories  of  the  aged 
there  is  a  tendency  to  revert  to  the  familiar  hymns  or  texts 
learned  in  childhood,  littie  understood  at  the  time,  but  lying 
hid  and  bursting  into  life  and  flower,  just  when  many  anchors 
are  slipping  away.  St.  John  himself,  in  his  old  age,  as  we 
read  his  latest  utterances,  his  Epistles,  seems  to  be  clinging 
round  a  few  old  truths,  and  old  formulae.  They  have  become 
fuller  and  fuller  of  meaning  and  light,  like  songs  of  childhood 
charged  with  the  sweetest  memories,  or  treasured  letters 
embalming  the  most  deeply-rooted  fibres  of  the  personal  life. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  eyes  of  the  disciples  were  first 
spiritually  opened  when  the  Lord  sat  with  them  at  supper  and 
took  the  bread,  and  blessed,  and  brake  it,  and  gave  it  to 
them. 

"  He  blessed  the  bread,  but  vanished  at  the  word, 
And  left  them  both  exclaiming,  '  'Tvvas  the  Lord."  "  ' 

The  act  of  Christ  was  quasi-sacramental.     He  did  what  He 
'  Cowper,  "  Conversation." 


196  JESUS   CHRIST. 

had  done  at  the  Last  Supper,  but  whether  He  gave  the  cup  or 
not,  we  are  not  told.  Perhaps  the  supper  then  stands  midway 
between  a  communion  and  an  agape.  Though  the  two  dis- 
ciples were  not  present  at  the  Last  Supper,  they  may  have  been 
famih'ar  with  its  details,  and  may  have  been  among  the  five 
thousand  or  the  four  thousand.  Or  they  may  have  been  like 
those  in  '.vhom  ignorance  is  no  bar  to  the  benefits  of  the  Holy 
Communion,  where  spiritual  preparedness  exists.  Certainly 
at  this  moment  of,  on  the  lowest  ground,  social  communion  their 
eyes  were  opened  to  the  Light.  And  they  are  soon  on  their 
way  bade  to  Jerusalem  with  the  glad  tidings. 

The  same  night,  perhaps  about  8  P.M.,  when  the  two  had 
returned  with  their  joyful  evidence  to  the  eleven  apostles  and 
others  gathered  with  them,  He  Himself  stood  in  their  midst. 
He  had  appeared  to  individual  believers  ;  He  now  appeared  to 
the  Church.  Resurrection  had  not  been  a  mere  revival.  His 
body  had  "put  on"  new  conditions  and  higher  powers.  It 
was  now  a  spiritual  body,  entirely  indifferent  to  material 
limitations.  And  so  the  way  was  paved  for  the  conception  of  a 
heavenly  bodily  organism  fitted  to  be  the  perfected  instrument 
and  organ  of  a  glorified  spirit  ;  and  for  the  presence  of  His 
own  body  "after  an  heavenly  and  spiritual  manner."  ' 

The  passing  of  the  real  substantial  body  through  the  closed 
door  was  both  an  evidence  and  a  prophecy.  After  giving  the 
senses  of  sight,  and  hearing,  and  feeling  independent  evidence 
of  His  continued  humanity  and  unbroken  identity,  He  now 
formally  renewed  and  ratified  the  commission  they  had  before 
received.  But  it  was  a  grant  of  enlarged  powers  upon  the 
basis  of  His  increased  authority.  It  was  the  grant  of  a  King 
distributing  His  functions  o  government  according  to  His 
royal  will  and  power  with  primary  reference  to  the  spiritual 
domain.  He  gave  them  mission  identical  with  His  own.  To 
send  in  itself  carries  with  it  no  powers.  But  authority  n 
addition  was  delegated.  And  under  the  outward  sign  of  breath- 
ing the  inward  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  imparted  for  the 
discharge  of  apostolic  and  ecclesiastical  functions,  wiih 
especial  reference  to  the  remitting  and  retaining  of  sins. 
Christ  was,  and  is,  the  Minister  and  High  Priest  of  the  Church 
All  offices  are  actually,  as  well  as  ideally,  contained  in  His 
Person.  Out  of  His  fulness  He  differentiates  se/ected  offices^ 
»  Art.  xxviii.  of  the  Tliirty-niue  Articles. 


THE    RESURRECTION    AND   THE    FORTY    DAYS.  I97 

functions,  powers,  gifts.  The  Church  as  a  whole  and  the 
apostles  most  nearly  were  to  represent  Him  in  the  world,  His 
life,  work,  authority  ;  not  to  speak  now  of  His  mind  and 
character. 

There  was  one  absentee  upon  this  occasion.  The  doubting 
Thomas  peremptorily  demanded  rigorous  first-hand,  sensible 
experience  of  the  reality  of  the  Resurrection.  All  appear  to 
have  doubted  in  differing  degrees.  Doubt  was  characteristic 
of  the  most  unhopeful  but  straightforward  apostle.  What 
were  the  especial  difficulties  of  his  faith  we  are  not  told.  Pro- 
bably they  were  in  the  main  physical,  for  physical  proof 
satisfied  his  doubt.  And  the  Messianic  hope  may  have  taken 
more  definitely  local  and  national  outlines  with  him.  Thomas 
was  the  impersonation  of  the  doubt  of  the  dull,  matter-of-fact 
character  which  sinks  under  the  pressure  of  overpowering 
environments,  but  does  not  cease  to  love.  Thomas  wanted 
imagination  ;  he  could  see  only  straight  before  him  ;  he  wanted 
faith  in  others  because  he  wanted  faith  in  God.  And  so,  though 
he  honestly  loved, 

*'  Doubt,  a  blank  twilight  of  the  heart,  which  mars 
.All  sweetest  colours  in  its  dimness  same  ; 
A  soul-mist,  through  whose  rifts  famihar  stars 
Beholding  we  misname," ' 

clouded  his  mind,  as  it  shook,  if  we  mistook  not,  even  the 
strong  grip  and  single  eye  of  the  prophet  in  Macheerus. 

Our  Lord's  reproaches  (Mark  xvi.  14  ;  Luke  xxiv.  25)  upon 
this  and  other  occasions  would  not  have  contained  that  element 
of  bitterness  which  usually  characterizes  deserved,  or  un~ 
deserved,  human  reproachfulness.  They  were  the  chidings 
of  them  that  "  smite  me  friendly."  And  we  know  not  how 
much  His  manner  and  tone  sweetened  and  solemnized  the  lash 
which  revealed  the  moral  source,  the  hard-heartedness  and 
slow-heartedness,  of  their  intellectual  sins.  But  what  ol  those 
whose  faith  and  love  retreat  in  company  at  quick  march .'' 
What  of  those  who  seal  their  eyes  and  heart  to  evidence 
within  and  without,  who  create  difficulties,  instead  of  waiting 
their  approach,  with  an  increasing  appetite  for  negatives,  and 
an  unchecked  passion  to  hear  all  that  can  be  said  against  the 

'  Jean  Ingelow,  "  Honours," 


« 


igS  JKSUS   CHRlbT. 

old  story,  who  "  blaspheme  dignities,"  or  halve  and  distort  in 
order  to  scorn, 

"  E'en  those,  Thine  own  in  earlier  youth, 
Now  coldly  asking,  '  What  is  truth?  ' 
Who  spurn  tlie  way  their  fathers  trod, 
Forego  their  faith,  and  lose  their  God"  ?* 

Are  such  Thomases  ? 

A  week  passed.  The  news  must  have  spread  and  brought 
Thomas  to  the  weekly  gathering,  which  anticipated  evidently 
another  appearance  when  the  day  of  Resurrection  came 
again.  Here  is  the  instinctive  and  unconscious  consecra- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Day  of  subsequent  observance.  Again 
the  Lord  appears.  Thomas  receives  the  verification  he  had 
desired,  and  the  "ninth  beatitude"  is  pronounced  upon  those 
who  had  not  seen  the  "atoning  wounds,"  but  would  believe. 
The  falling  Church  had  now  become  the  standing  Church.  The 
spiritual  and  intellectual  victory  of  the  Resurrection  was  now 
complete.  The  rising  or  falling  of  the  Churches  to  the  end 
depends  upon  their  response  to  the  power  of  the  Resurrection, 
aVid  their  increasing  or  decreasing  in  the  life  of  the  Risen. 

Contrary  to  their  own  preconceived  opinions  of  the  Jewish 
Messiah,  contrary  to  their  own  prejudices,  unbroken  by  the 
repeated  waves  of  surprise  in  Christ's  conduct,  character,  and 
teaching,  the  disciples  believed  in  the  return  of  Jesus  to  life, 
and  that  life  in  their  belief  belonged  to  a  wholly  higher  order  of 
being.  And  what  was  the  next  step  taken  in  the  progress  of 
their  conviction?  They  believed  in  the  return  to  a  pre-existent 
earthly  life,  followed  by  a  return  to  a  pre-existent  heavenly  life. 
They  believed  that  Jesus  was  alive  in  heaven  at  the  right  hand 
of  God,  in  the  plentitude  of  power  and  glory,  and  yet  in  imme- 
diate relation  and  minute  contact  with  His  earthly  friends, 
officers,  representatives.  The  excited  hallucinations  of  enthu- 
siasts nvght  have  restored  to  an  imaginary  life  a  beloved  form. 
But  how  could  the  fondest  flights  of  fancy  appeal  to  His  pre- 
sence above  by  His  works  beneath?  How  could  they  deepen 
and  widen  and  strengthen  their  convictions  with  the  lapse  of 
time?  And  in  the  face  of  hostile  criticism  and  sleepless  perse- 
cution maintain  unshaken  their  own  conviction  of  His  present, 
energizing  power,  and  afford  sufficient  proof  of  the  same 
'  Dr.   Bright. 


THE   RESURRECTION   AXD  THE   FORTV  DAYS.  I99 

to  Others  to  gradually  convince  many  of  their  own  people,  in- 
cluding a  leading  opponent,  and  many  in  different  places,  and 
of  divers  tongues,  cultures,  environments,  beliefs,  that  their  faith 
was  not  an  open  question,  not  a  religious  novelty,  or  a  tenable 
hypothesis,  or  a  fanciful  superstition,  but  an  absolutely  peremp- 
tory fact  ?  It  is  unhistoric,  unscientific  to  isolate  the  evidence 
of  the  Resurrection  to  its  bare  context.  The  whole  line  of  result 
must  be  measured  from  the  conviction  of  the  first  convinced 
woman  of  tears  to  the  still  throbbing  life  and  hope  of  Christen- 
dom. It  must  be  remembered  that  the  scientific  difficulties  of 
belief  were  as  serious,  if  not  as  clearly  defined,  for  them  as  for 
us.  In  addition  to  that  they  had  greater  difficulties  of  their  own. 
The  rejection  of  the  Messiah  by  all  the  influence  and  authority 
of  Jerusalem ;  His  unresisting  submission  to  the  Gentile  powers  ; 
the  defection  of  His  nearest  disciples  ;  the  contradiction  to 
all  their  hopes  and  Messianic  preconceptions — and  all  coming 
when  the  crown  of  popular  favour  had  been  set  upon  His  brow 
by  the  Messianic  exultation  on  the  Day  of  Palms.  The  reaction 
to  faith  required  a  tremendous  impetus.  The  recoil  was  by 
degrees. 

Jewish  preconception  had  so  far  from  created  a  bias  in  favour 
of  a  risen  Messiah,  that  it  increased  the  difficulty  of  belief. 
The  notion  of  a  pre-existent  Messiah  '  was  vague  and  colourless 
at  the  best,  and  even  where  it  existed  failed  to  suggest  a  resur- 
rection. The  only  basis  of  faith  was  derivable  from  the  predic- 
tions of  Jesus  Himself.  The  Old  Testament  itself  contained 
the  truth.  But  it  was  hidden  and  unsuspected.  Christ's 
definite  promise  was  forgotten.  His  words  would  rise  again. 
They  had  died  and  been  buried.  The  change  in  the  disciples' 
life,  outward  and  inward,  in  their  aggressive  militancy,  in  their 
power  of  conviction  and  producing  conviction,  is  absolutely  un- 
inteUigible,  unless  an  adequate  cause  be  found.  That  cause — 
the  resurrection  of  the  Master — carried  with  it  the  resurrection 
of  their  hearts  and  lives,  of  their  convictions  and  powers. 

From  Celsus  onwards  the  objection  has  been  raised  that 
Christ  did  not  appear  to  any  but  believers.  But  the  time  for 
evidential  miracles  was  past.  Nor  were  miracles  ever  wrought 
by  Christ  without  obedience  to  law.  That  law  was  God's  will 
and  character  on  the  one  side,  with  which  He  was  in  constant 
touch  ;  human  spiritual  affinity  on  the  other.  The  universal 
'  Cf.  Stanton,  p.  130  f. 


200  JESUS   CHRIST. 

vindication  of  His  claims  before  believers  and  unbelievers  is 
held  in  reserve  by  the  Father. 

There  was  assuredly  a  judicial  element  in  His  withdrawal.' 
It  was  a  pcena  danuii.  Was  there  not  here  a  touch  of  mercy 
— lest  they  should  sin  too  awfully  against  the  light .''  "  If  a  man 
love  Me  I  will  manifest  Myself  to  him."  But  where  was  the 
promise  of  manifestation  to  those  who  loved  Him  not.''  Love 
opens  God's  heart  as  well  as  man's.  And  where  the  initial  at 
once  and  final  gift  of  love  was  wanting,  what  good  could  mere 
intellectual  coercion  have  done  ? 

"  Had  Jesus  showed  Himself  not  to  disciples  only,  witnesses 
chosen  before  of  God,  but  to  all  the  people — to  the  Pharisees 
and  Sadducees,  to  the  judges  who  condemned  Him,  and  to  the 
soldiers  who  nailed  Him  to  the  cross,"  it  would  have  been,  as  has 
been  well  said,*  "  to  renew  His  Passion."  "That  Passion  con- 
sisted in  other  things  besides  sufferings  deliberately  inflicted 
on  Him  by  the  world.  Mere  intercourse  with  the  world  caused 
no  small  part  of  it.  To  have  His  aims  misunderstood,  His 
motives  misinterpreted.  His  revelations  scorned  ;  to  have  the 
very  works  in  which  the  glory  of  His  Father  most  conspicuously 
appeared  traced  to  a  league  on  His  part  with  Beelzebub  :  to  find 
that  much  of  the  Divine  seed  sown  by  Him  fell  upon  the  hard 
wayside,  and  was  taken  away  before  it  could  penetrate  the 
heart  ;  to  come  into  hourly  contact  with  ignorance  instead  of 
knowledge,  selfishness  instead  of  love,  oppression  instead  of 
justice,  formalism  instead  of  piety,  truth  perverted  by  its 
appointed  guardians.  His  Father's  house  turned  into  a  den  of 
thieves,  the  wretched  denied  consolation,  man  living  without 
God  and  dying  without  hope— all  this  was  suffering  and  sorrow  ; 
it  was  His  burden  and  His  cup  of  woe.  No  approach  even  to  a 
fresh  experience  of  a  like  kind  was  possible  after  the  burdtnhad 
been  borne  and  the  cup  drained  to  the  dregs.  From  the  very 
nature  of  the  case,  the  risen  Lord  could  come  in  contact  only 
with  disciples— with  those  in  whom,  instead  of  finding  cause  for 
a  renewal  of  His  pain,  He  might  'see  of  the  travail  of  His  soul 
and  be  satisfied.'  If  His  resurrection  was  the  beginning  of  His 
glory,  it  would  have  been  a  reversal  of  the  whole  plan  of  our 
redemption,  a  confounding  of  the  different  steps  of  the  economy 

•  Cf.  Tert.  Apol.  21,  "  ne  impii  errore  liberarentur." 

'  Prof.  Milligan,  "  The  Resurrection  of  our  Lord,''  p.  33. 


THE  RESURRECTION  AND  THE   FORTY  DAYS.  201 

of  grace,  had  He  *  after  His  passion '  presented  Himself  alive 
to  any  but  disciples." 

Negative  criticism  still  has  to  content  itself  with  the  vision 
hypothesis.  It  shatters  itself  historically  upon  the  evidence  of 
the  undisputed  epistles  of  St.  Paul.  Morally  and  psychologi- 
cally it  totally  fails  to  account  for  the  rapid,  decided,  and  per- 
manent moral  and  spiritual  resurrection  of  the  believers,  and 
the  present  power  and  working  of  the  Church  of  Jesus.  If  the 
Resurrection  were  a  visionary  hallucination,  the  whole  of  Chris- 
tian devotion  and  life  rests  upon  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision ; 
and  a  vast  stream  of  moral  and  spiritual  energy  flows  from  an 
inanimate  object  of  worship.  A  delirium  which  has  flooded  the 
world  with  seas  of  prayer,  crowded  it  with  churches,  girdled  it 
with  armies  of  workers  in  every  field  of  human  activity,  leaves 
the  world  more  insane  every  day  !  So  vast  an  effect  requires 
an  adequate  cause,  and  that  cause  is  pronounced  to  be  a  dream 
"  of  the  feverish  moods  of  evening  !  "  ' 

It  does  not  seem  difficult  to  follow  the  Lord's  reasons  for 
sending  the  disciples  into  Galilee,  which  to  negative  criticism 
has  been  suggestive  of  suspicion.  Galilee  was  the  centre  of  the 
faith.  The  apostles  were  Galileans.  Old  associations  would  be 
renewed.  Old  ties  riveted.  In  sight  of  the  old  places,  on  the 
ground  redolent  of  word  and  deed  and  a  thousand  minutiae 
of  tones  and  looks,  the  old  truths  would  come  home  with 
gathered  interest.  The  continuity  of  the  pre-Resurrection  and 
post-Resurrection  teaching  would  be  shown  to  be  as  consistent 
as  the  continuity  of  the  pre- and  post-Resurrection  life.  Scenes 
of  home  affections,  consecrated  and  doubly  endeared,  or  freely 
surrendered,  scenes  of  spiritual  birth  and  conversion,  times  and 
places  which  were  landmarks  to  be  unforgotten  in  heaven, 
would  reinvest  the  old  teaching,  and  connect  it  with  the  new,  in 
a  network  of  hallowed  environment. 

In  Galilee  the  sentiment  of  attachment,  the  affection  of  per- 
sonal loyalty,  gained  the  accumulated  and  organized  authority 
of  past  association.  "  It  is  undeniable  that,  taken  in  its  widest 
acceptation,  the  feeling  of  the  community  is  the  sole  source  of 
political  power."  *  Feeling,  as  a  source  of  moral,  spiritual,  and 
social  power  in  the  Christian  body,  would  be  invigorated  and 

'  Keim,    vi.    345,    though   he   disclaims   in  words  adopting  the  vision 
theory. 
'  Herbert  Spencer,  "  Pohtical  Institutions,"  p.  327. 


202  JESUS   CHRIST. 

refreshed.  The  resurrection  both  of  emotion  and  of  intellect 
would  be  completed  where  eyes  and  ears  told  a  thousnnd  unfor- 
gotten  tales  of  the  Master's  past  works  and  words.  Galilee  v/as 
the  real  home,  the  dear  home,  both  of  the  Master  and  of  His 
disciples  ;  and  the  resurrection  of  all  Christian  home  life  \vliich 
began  in  the  Incarnation  was  now  perfLXted.  And  with  the 
love  of  home  in  their  hearts  His  teachers  would  go  forth  to 
bring  all  families  into  one,  and  show  them  the  way  to  the  Home 
of  homes. 

The  home  feeling  would  clin;:;  around  the  remembered  form 
of  the  beloved  Master,  and  all  of  His,  when  He  had  left  thera 
for  the  silence. 

The  first  Galilean  scene  is  a  prose  idyll.  They  are  in  the 
thick  of  the  old  work,  just  as  if  nothing  had  occurred  to  break 
it  off,  and  the  three  last  years  had  been  a  dream.  With  the 
three  fishers  of  the  lake  in  the  old  place  are  Galilean  Nathanael 
and  Thomas  and  two  disciples — a  company  forming  the  mystic 
number  seven.  They  had  fished  all  the  night  and  had  caught 
nothing.  Parting  the  fresh  morning  air  like  a  cheery  good 
morning  came  the  hail  from  the  Stranger  on  the  shore, 
"  Cast  the  net  on  the  right  side  of  the  ship  and  ye  shall  find." 
The  successful  haul  was  a  speaking  sign.  Love  is  quick  of 
memory  and  recognition.  It  is  the  beloved  apostle  who  at  once 
understands,  and  characteristically  says  to  Peter,  "It  is  the 
Lord  !"  It  is  Peter  who  characteristically  springs  into  the  sea, 
respectfully  putting  on  his  fishers  coat,  to  swim  or  wade  the 
hundred  yards  to  His  Master's  feet. 

The  dragging  in  of  the  loaded  net  follows  ;  and  the  exact 
counting  of  the  fish.  Considering  the  importance  of  numerical 
combinations  in  Scripture  the  symbolical  interpretation  of  the 
number,  supported  as  it  is  by  names  so  weighty  as  Augustine, 
and  so  devout  as  Isaac  Williams,  claims  a  respectful  hearing. 
The  meal  upon  the  shore  is  irresistibly  suggestive  of  prophetic 
import.  The  Rabbinical  and  extra-canonic  d  pictures  of  Mes- 
sianic banquets  under  spiritualized  applications  find  some 
scriptural  countenance,  and  the  figures,  or  whatever  the  truths 
that  underlie  them  be,  of  eating  and  drinking  in  the  kingdom, 
recur  in  the  Apocalypse  of  St.  John. 

After  the  meal  follows  the  memorable  dialogue  with  the  son 
of  John.  He  had  been  reinstated  with  the  others  in  office.  He 
is  now  formally  reinstated  in  confidence  before  himself  and  his 
fellows. 


THE    RESURKIiCTION    AND   THE    FOKTV   DAYS.  203 

"He  cau  forgive,  we  never  can  forget."  His  own  future  up- 
ifting  on  the  martyr's  cross  is  shadowed  forth.  Such  a  touching 
exhibition  of  unbroken  loyalty  to  His  friends,  such  a  more  than 
redintegratio  amoris,  restored  the  apostle  to  his  own  self-respect, 
and  left  no  doubt  resting  upon  his  future  priority  in  the  society. 
His  friend  too,  and  his  Lord's,  unforgotten  of  either,  must  tarry 
on  till  the  judgment  thunders  broke  over  Jerusalem,  a  real  judicial 
coming  of  the  Christ,  and  a  type  and  shadow  of  the  Last. 

"  The  spell  of  the  mountains  seems  to  have  been  on  St.  Mat- 
thew, and  he  loved  to  contemplate  the  Son  of  God  in  those 
solemn  sanctuaries."  '  The  spell  was  upon  the  disciple  because 
it  was  upon  his  Galilean  Master.  Upon  some  Galilean  height, 
it  may  well  have  been  the  mountain  of  the  Sermon,  for  it  was 
specially  appointed  by  Jesus,  and  would  have  been  well-known 
ground,  Christ  came  to  them.  It  was  the  time  for  a  Royal  pro- 
clamation. All  authority  in  heaven  and  earth  was  His  by  gift. 
He  now  issues  His  royal  commission  to  baptize  in  the  threefold 
Name  and  disciple  the  world,  and  pledged  His  word  that  the 
Royal  presence  would  accompany  the  faithful  to  the  consum- 
mation of  the  world.  The  circle  of  victory  widened  through 
unknown  reaches  to  invisible  shores  of  hope.  The  Messianic 
hope  was  lifted  and  extended  beyond  national  borders  and 
temporal  royalties  to  the  regions  of  the  Infinite  and  the  Eternal. 
Earth  and  heaven  were  different  provinces  of  one  Empire. 
The  Head  over  all,  blessed  for  ever,  stood  before  them. 

It  would  be  travelling  out  of  our  way  to  point  out  how  this 
truth  was  only  gradually  realized  through  the  shock  of  party 
conflicts,  voices  of  debate  and  discord  in  the  apostolic  company, 
the  disseminating  effect  of  persecution,  the  rise  of  a  personality 
of  unique  power  and  unclouded  vision  upon  the  scene  of 
Christian  warfare,  and  the  direct  visions  and  revelations  of  the 
Lord  from  heaven  :  so  slow  is  human  nature  to  rise  to  the 
supernatural,  so  ready  to  lapse  from  its  highest  moments  of 
conviction,  and  to  fall  into  moral  disintegration  and  spiritual 
disorder. 

No  details  remain  of  other  manifestations.  He  appeared  to 
"above  five  hundred  brethren  at  once"  (i  Cor.  xv.  6),  of  whom 
more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  were  alive  twenty-eight  years 
after.  Such  a  large  company  of  witnesses  of  the  Resurrection 
must  have  disseminated  the  seeds  of  faith  far  and  wide,  especi- 
'  Bp.  Alexander,  "Leading  Ideas,"  p.  16. 


204  JESUS   CHRIST. 

ally  when  the  persecution  of  which  St.  Stephen  was  the  tirsl 
victim  scattered  the  faithful.  We  also  learn  from  St.  Paul 
(i  Cor.  XV.  7)  of  an  appearance  to  James.  "At  the  time  when 
St.  Paul  wrote,  there  was  but  one  person  eminent  enough  in  the 
Church  to  be  called  James  simply  without  any  distinguisliing 
epithet — the  Lord's  brother,  the  bishop  of  Jerusalem.  It  might 
therefore  be  reasonably  concluded  that  this  James  is  here  meant. 
And  this  view  is  confirmed  by  an  extant  fragment  of  the  Gospel 
according  to  the  Hebrews,  the  most  important  of  all  the 
Apocryphal  Gospels,  which  seems  to  have  preserved  more  than 
one  true  tradition,  and  which  expressly  relates  the  appearance 
of  our  Lord  to  His  brother  James  after  His  ascension."  '  If 
Bishop  Lightfoot's  inference  be  accepted  there  are  nine  re- 
corded appearances  of  the  Lord  after  His  resurrection,  if  that 
to  James  be  placed  before  His  ascension  there  are  ten. 

Tradition  preserves  a  beautiful  memory  of  an  appearance  to 
His  mother.  It  is  difficult  to  suppose  that  the  inspired  historian 
of  the  Magnificat,  who  does  not  either  forget  to  mention  her 
presence  with  the  apostles,  with  the  women,  and  with  His 
brethren  in  the  upper  chamber  (Acts  i.  14),  should  have  omitted, 
or  been  ignorant  of  such  a  record.  But  "  le  cceur  a  ses  raisons,"" 
and  upon  such  heart  reasons  we  dare  not  contradict,  though  we 
may  not  affirm,  such  a  greeting  between  mother  and  Son  as 
would  have  been  a  foretaste  of  the  first  in  heaven. 

The  Lord  might  also  have  made  an  unrecorded  appearance 
to  His  "brethren,"  i.e.^  Joseph's  sons  by  a  former  wife,^  His 
foster-brethren.  Certainly  we  find  them  gathered  together  with 
the  apostolic  company  after  the  Resurrection,  "  all  "  of  whom 
"continued  with  one  accord  in  prayer  and  supplication"  (Acts  i. 
14).  Yet  shortly  before  His  passion  they  did  not  believe  in 
Him  (John  vii.  5).  How  did  this  happy  change  come  about  ? 
Bishop  Lightfoot  suggests  that  the  Lord's  appearance  after  the 
Ascension,  as  he  places  it,  to  James  was  the  turning  point  in 
his  religious  life  and  that  of  his  brethren.  This  is  open,  how- 
ever, to  the  serious  objection  mentioned  above  of  James  being 
in  the  company  of  the  faith  before  the  Ascension.  Nor  have 
we  any  records  of  our  Lord's  appearing  to  unbelievers  in 
order  to  win  their  faith,  for  Thomas  had  been  no  unbeliever 
before  the  passion.     It  would  seem,  then,  the  more  natural  sup- 

»  Bp.  Lightfoot,  "  Galatians,"  p.  265.  »  Pascal. 

J  According  to  the  Epiphanian  view. 


THE    RESLKKLCriON    AND   THE    FORTY   DAYS.  20, 

position  that  James  and  His  brethren  were  among  the  fruits  of 
the  Passion-travail  of  His  soul,  whom  the  Resurrection  brought 
out  of  the  tremors  and  hesitations  of  imperfect  conviction. 
The  influence  of  the  Lord's  mother,  and  His  kinsmen  after  the 
flesh,  such  as  the  sons  of  Zebedee,  would  have  told  in  this 
direction.  And  the  appearance  to  James,  if  it  really  took  place 
after,  not  before,  the  Ascension,  would  have  been  the  reward  of 
faith,  its  effect,  not  its  cause. 

Such  changes  of  conviction  are  suggestive  of  others  like 
them.  The  inward  histories  of  faith  are  not  hewn  after  the 
same  fashion,  but  vary  with  the  infinite  diversities  of  human 
character.  Among  the  "  more  than  five  hundred,"  some  of 
whom  still  "doubted,"  but  probably  ended  in  full  conviction,  at 
least  when  the  Holy  Spirit  came  down  and  convicted  thousands 
of  the  sin  and  sinfulness  of  unbelief  (John  xvi.  9)  ;  among  the 
thousands  of  the  Pentecostal  day  of  conversion  ;  among  the 
"great  company  of  the  priests"  (Acts  vi.  7)  who  became 
obedient  unto  the  faith  ;  among  the  number  of  the  disciples 
who  within  so  short  a  time  as  that  preceding  the  preaching  of 
St.  Stephen  "  multiplied  in  Jerusalem  greatly  ;  "  among  the 
many,  in  short,  of  the  apostolic  first-fruits  there  cannot  fail  to 
have  been  some  in  various  stages  of  progress  towards  the  faith, 
who  had  witnessed  or  heard  of  the  crucifixion,  who  if  among 
the  recognized  five  hundred  brethren  had  witnessed,  if  outside 
the  inner  circle  had  not  witnessed,  but  heard  the  report  of 
witnesses.  Certainly  the  statistics  of  the  faith  would  have  been 
very  different  on  Good  Friday,  on  Ascension  Day,  and  a  week 
after  Pentecost. 

The  great  Forty  Days  must  be  regarded  as  an  organic  whole. 
The  moral  education  of  the  disciples  had  been  completed.  The 
discipline  of  character  had  received  its  finishing  touches.  The 
shafts  had  been  polished  (Isa.  xlix.  2),  they  had  been  kept 
close  in  the  quiver  :  now  they  must  fly  abroad.  The  Church 
had  centred  in  Christ's  own  Person.  The  Church  had  been 
integrating.  The  little  community  who  followed  Him  con- 
stituted the  faithful.  The  Divine  society  had  been  in  the 
nursery  stage.  Childish  things  must  now  be  put  away,  as  when 
a  young  man  leaves  a  godly  father's  roof,  enriched  by  hallowed 
examples  and  speaking  memories,  to  do  battle  in  the  struggle 
for  existence.  The  example  of  Christ  had  done  its  work. 
Memory  was  filled  to  the  full.     A  fund  of  energy  could   be 


2o6  JESUS   CHRIST. 

drawn  from  the  past.  New  resources  must  be  opened  up.  New 
powers  furnished.    A  new  impetus  derived  from  the  present. 

The  great  Forty  Days  is  the  period  of  organization.  The 
differentiating  movement  had  begun  in  the  separation  of  the 
Twelve,  it  continued  in  the  separation  of  the  Seventy,  it  was 
now  made  constant.  The  simple  unclassified  collection  of 
believers  formed  a  little  Messianic  knot  and  nidus. 

The  new  society  was  organized  upon  a  definite  basis,  with  a 
definite  formula  of  initiation  and  bond  of  cohesion.  It  was 
gifted  with  the  promise  and  potency  of  self-government,  self- 
development,  self-propagation,  "a  plant,  like  those  of  the  first 
creation,  having  seed  in  itself  upon  the  earth." '  The  family  of 
God  was  promised  indestructibility  and  spiritual  fertility.  The 
unexplained  title.  Son  of  Man,  cast  its  light  forward.  The  Son 
of  Man  was  the  ideal  Man,  and  the  King  of  men.  His  kingdom 
found  satisfaction  for  all  the  wants  of  humanity  in  all  relations 
Godward  and  manward.  Every  development  of  truth  and 
righteousness  in  every  direction  is  a  ray  from  the  Kingdom  of 
light.  The  Light  in  the  world  must  now  diffuse  itself  into  the 
world.  The  mind  of  Christ  is  the  ideal  human  mind.  The 
soul  of  Christ  is  the  glorified  human  soul.  The  Body  of  Christ 
is  the  glorified  spiritualized  human  body.  Christward  march 
all  the  forces  in  heaven  and  earth,  good  to  their  consummation 
and  coronation,  evil  to  their  destruction, 

"  On  to  the  distant 
Star  of  existent 
Rapture  and  love."  ' 

As  there  was  development  in  the  sphere  of  order,  so  there 
was  development  in  the  sphere  of  faith.  The  germ  of  the 
Catholic  faith  lay  in  the  confession  of  the  leading  apostle, 
"  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God,"  at  a  crucial 
moment.  The  baptismal  formula  embodies  and  completes  the 
definition.  Whatever  legitimate  development  there  has  been  in 
the  formulation  of  Christian  truth  has  rendered  explicit  what 
was  imphcit.  There  have  been  parasitic  growths  which  have 
cumbered  the  ground,  and  embarrassed  the  freedom  of  natural 
progress  and  soiled  its  many-hued  bloom.     As  all  true  develop- 

'  Bp.  Cotterill,  "  Genesis  of  the  Church." 

"  Goethe,  "Faust,"  translated  by  Bayard  Taylor. 


THE   RESURRECTION   AND   THE    FORTY   DAYS.  ^0^ 

ment  tends  to  repair  to  its  original  source,  and  to  conform  to 
its  proper  type,  so  all  excrescences  tend  to  fall  away.  As  the 
different  sections  of  Christendom,  which  stand  self-condemned 
by  the  very  fact  of  being  sections,  gravitate  nearer  to  their 
Centre  and  source  they  must  draw  nearer  to  one  another.  In 
the  end  the  centripetal  tendency  must  fuse  all  together  who 
obey  it.  As  there  are  three  Persons  in  one  indivisible  God,  as 
Jesus  Christ  eternally  unites  divinity  and  humanity  in  Himself, 
so  through  and  in  Him  humanity  moves  on  to  its  deification. 
The  nearer  humanity  approaches  Christ,  ideally  and  actually, 
the  nearer  it  approaches  unity,  Divine  and  human.  For  such 
Christian  unification,  inward  and  outward,  all  Christians  should 
work  and  pray.  And  the  day  of  days  must  come  when  Christ's 
unfulfilled  words  are  fulfilled,  and  Christ's  unanswered  prayer  is 
answered. 

The  permanence,  the  identity,  of  the  Lord's  Body  was  as  real 
as  the  permanence,  the  identity  of  His  soul.  He  had  submitted 
His  risen  Body  to  the  touch  of  Thomas  and  the  others  ;  He  had 
allowed  Mary  to  cling  to  His  feet,  if  but  for  a  moment  ;  He  had 
in  the  preceding  meal  taken  and  eaten  before  them.  His  Body 
then  was  under  new  conditions,  but  the  same.  It  was  a  spiritual 
Body,  yet  it  had  not  put  off  material  relations.  It  consisted  then 
of  spiritualized  matter.  That  all  the  bodies  of  the  faithful  Chris- 
tians will  be  so  spiritualized,  St.  Paul  has  expressly  taught  under 
the  figure  of  the  seed.  That  all  matter  will  undergo  spiritual 
transformation  seems  a  further  inference  necessitated  by  the 
view  of  the  Son  of  Man  as  the  Head  and  Archetype  of  Creation. 
So,  too,  early  Christian  thinkers  taught.  "  The  Lord,"  says  St. 
Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  "will  roll  up  the  heavens,  not  in  order  to 
destroy  them,  but  in  order  to  raise  them  up  better."  '  Such  a 
conception  follows  upon  the  consideration  of  the  view  of  Creation 
opened  up  by  St.  Paul  in  the  eighth  chapter  of  the  Romans.  As 
Irenaeus  long  ago  discovered,  "The  Creation,  therefore,  itself 
must  be  renewed  to  its  old  condition,  and  without  hindrance 
serve  the  righteous."^  And  it  is  needless  to  dwell,  for  it  would 
take  us  too  far  away  from  our  subject,  upon  the  sidelights  flashed 
in  by  such  physical  doctrines  as  those  of  the  conservation  ot 
energy. 

The  permanence,  the  identity,  of  the  Lord's  human  soul  was 

»  Quoted  by  Rev.  P.  G.  Medd,  Bampton  Lectures,  p.  566. 

*  Irenasus,  v.  x.xxii.  i. 


208  JESUS   CHRIST. 

also  proved  by  His  human  feelings.  He  took  a  human  interest 
in  the  places  and  the  persons  He  knew  before.  There  was  no 
break  in  the  continuity  of  His  affection.  Whatever  scenes  He 
witnessed  in  the  bodiless  world,  He  had  not  forgotten  any  of 
His  earthly  life  or  any  of  His  earthly  friends.  St.  Peter's  denial 
is  recalled  to  the  apostle  His  little  flock  are  His  brethren. 
The  Cross  had  not  stamped  out,  but  stamped  in,  all  that  had 
gone  before.  The  Resurrection  had  brought  new  life,  had  not 
abolished  the  old,  but  preserved  it.  The  permanence,  the 
identity,  of  human  affections  in  the  risen  state  is  surely  here 
indicated  beyond  any  possibility  of  doubt.  All  that  has  gone 
to  form  the  Christ-life  and  the  Christ -love,  and  to  contribute 
thereto,  will  remain  under  revived  glory  and  resurgent  blessed- 
ness. All  the  sweet  affections  and  friendships,  all  the  heaven- 
born  recollections,  whereby  hearts  have  been  bound  in  the 
strongest,  tenderest  bands,  sundered  awhile  by  death,  shall  here 
find  their  fullest  consecration,  their  highest  development,  their 
perfected  resurrection.  All  that  is  Christian  in  every  possible 
development  of  the  Christ-energ)s  from  the  highest  glories  of 
the  greatest  saint  to  the  lowest  and  least  stone  in  the  Temple, 
rose  in  Him.  The  thoughts  raised  thereby  are  boundless,  they 
burst  the  limitations  of  the  human  mind,  enlarged  and  illumi- 
nated by  the  radiant  revelations  of  the  inspired  prophets  of  the 
new  Covenant,  of  the  Apocalypses  of  the  Divine  character  and 
working. 

The  four  distinct  records  of  the  resurrection  life  of  Christ  shed 
differing,  but  converging,  lights  upon  that  life.  Briefly,  it  may 
be  said  that  St.  Matthew  views  Jesus  from  his  Jewish  point  of 
belief  as  the  risen  Messiah,  victorious  and  triumphant,  "  estab- 
lishing an  external  polity  upon  the  basis  of  the  Old  Cove- 
nant ;"'  and  "over  all  is  the  light  of  a  glorious  majesty,  abiding 
even  unto  the  end."  "^  And  "  he  alone  notices  the  humble  adora- 
tion of  the  risen  Lord  before  His  ascension,  and,  as  if  with 
jealous  care,  traces  to  its  origin  the  calumny  currently  reported 
among  the  Jews  to  this  day."  3  St.  Mark's  account  is  compli- 
cated by  the  question  of  the  original  source  of  the  last  verses. 
That  question  is  still  an  open  one,  for  weighty  names  are  ranged 
upon  both  sides."     But  even  those  who  reject  the  verses  as  a 

'  Bp.  John  Wordsworth,  "  Uii  ,  _.jity  Sermons,"  p.  22. 

2  Westcott,  "Study  of  the  Gospels.,"  p.  332.  3  Ibid. 

*  Lachmann,   Griesbach,  Tregelles,  Tischendoif,  Weiss,  Westcott  and 


THE   RESURKECl'ION"    AND   THE    FORI  V    DAYS.  20g 

part  of  the  original  Mark  accept  their  canonicity,  and  so,  for 
our  purpose,  as  trustworthy  documentary  evidence  they  may  be 
provisionally  admitted,  St.  Mark  is  then  seen  to  be  filled  with 
the  personal  energy  of  the  strong  Son  of  God.  And  the  strongest 
argument  on  internal  grounds  for  retaining  the  last  section,  or 
regarding  it,  at  all  events,  as  the  later  work  of  the  same  hand, 
springs  from  the  "moral  connection  "  and  unity  of  tone  "be- 
tween the  body  of  the  Gospel  and  the  last  and  crowning 
section." '  St.  Luke,  according  to  the  uniform  drift  of  his 
Gospel,  depicts  the  risen  Lord  as  the  incarnate  Saviour,  and 
connecting  the  Resurrection  with  the  Passion  "  unfolds 
the  spiritual  necessity  by  which  suffering  and  victory  were 
united." ""  St.  John,  on  the  other  hand,  great  organizer  of  the 
Church  3  as  he  was  before  and  at  the  time  he  wrote,  dwells  upon 
the  Lord  in  His  individual  and  inner  relations  with  disciples  in 
the  interlacings  of  faith  within  the  communion  of  saints. 

Yet  the  fourfold  picture  in  itself  was  inadequate.  Outlines  of 
the  risen,  as  of  the  whole  earthly,  life,  are  all  that  have  reached 
us.  For  "  even  the  world  itself,"  said  the  last  and  greatest 
witness,  "  would  not  contain  the  books  that  should  be  written," 
if  all  were  told. 

Hort  reject  ;  Bleek,  Lange,  Hilgenfeld,  Broadus,  McLellan,  Scrivener, 
Morison,  Cook,  Bishops  Wordsworth  of  Lincoln  and  Salisbury,  and  Dr. 
Salmon  retain.  See  especially  Salmon,  p.  190  foil.,  and  Schaff,  "  Com- 
panion," p.  189. 

'  Bishop  John  Wordsworth,  of  Salisbury,  1.  c.  p.,  p.  23,  in  an  eloquent 
defence  of  the  retention  of  the  section  in  the  original  body  of  the  Gospel. 

'  Westcott,  1.  c.  3  In  Asia  Minor. 


>5 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  ASCENSION   AND   AFTER. 

•*  When  fire  is  kindled  on  the  earth  it  glows 
In  highest  heaven  ;  none  run  uncall'd,  none  love 
Unloved  ;  below,  above, 
Thy  works  are  many,  but  Thy  Name  is  One." 

Dora  Greenwell,  "Carmina  Crucis.** 

The  scene  fitly  closes  at  Jerusalem.  May  it  not  re-open  there 
in  the  fulness  of  time  ?  He  leads  out  the  witnesses,  not  to,  but 
towards,  Bethany.  "  To  three  only  had  the  first  Transfiguration 
been  granted.  All  the  apostles  are  to  behold  the  second,  and 
yet  greater,  Transfiguration."'  The  traditional  scene  must  be 
rejected,  for  it  is  only  half  a  mile  from  the  city.  One  of  the 
eastern  slopes  of  Olivet,  overhanging  Bethany,  satisfies  the  re- 
quirements of  the  narratives.  Somewhere  here  He  visibly 
ascended,  accompanied  by  a  choir  of  prayer,  and  escorted  by 
a  guard  of  angels.  The  Blessed  One  was  last  seen  blessing. 
Some  have  supposed  that  "  the  nine  days  of  the  ascent  refer  to 
the  nine  orders  of  angels  through  whom  He  passed  to  reign." 
Let  only  Dante  eyes  look  into  the  clouds  of  glory  which  roll 
between  the  upper  and  under  Church. 

"  Ascendit  in  coelos,  sedet  ad  dextram  Patris." 

The  glad  tidings  of  the  kingdom  of  God  end  with  the  music  of 
uplifted  hearts  and  voices  in  the  Temple,  like  a  far-ofif  ringing 
of  heavenly  bells  about  the  feet  of  the  great  High  Priest. 
Sursuin  corda. 

'  Archdeacon  J.  P.  Norris. 


THE  ASCENSION  AND   AFTER.  211 

The  Ascension  was  an  act  as  strictly  necessary  as  the  Resur- 
rection. The  'Awro^wjj,  the  very  Life  could  not  but  return  to  its 
own  level.  And  for  the  disciples  it  was  necessary  as  supplying 
the  last  link  in  the  chain  of  faith.  If  Christ  came  in  a  super- 
natural way  it  was  meet  that  He  should  leave  in  a  supernatural 
way.  "How  could  His  resurrection  have  formed,  for  the  dis- 
ciples, the  basis  for  belief  in  an  eternal  life,  if  it  had  been 
subsequently  followed  by  death?"  '  Even  if  the  account  had 
never  been  given  the  conviction  of  the  Lord's  ascension  and 
continuous  life  above  is  the  constant  presupposition  of  the  dis- 
ciples' life  and  worship  and  work.  The  evidence  of  the  fact  and 
the  evidence  of  their  conviction  of  the  fact  are  interdependent. 
And  the  result  of  their  convictions  in  themselves  and  others 
ends  to  proof  independently  the  validity  of  the  same. 

St.  Luke,  upon  whose  mind  the  before-mentioned  allusion  to 
the  Ascension,^  shows  how  vivid  an  impression  that  event  made 
upon  his  mind,  gives  a  brief  summary  in  the  Acts  of  the  great 
Forty  Days  in  the  light  of  the  Ascension  and  its  Pentecostal 
sequel. 

The  question  of  the  future  developments  of  Christ's  kingdom 
upon  earth  is  too  wide  an  one  for  brief  treatment.  We  can  only 
note  one  or  two  headings.  First,  that  past  progress,  inward 
and  outward,  past  development,  inward  and  outward,  is 
the  pledge  and  the  earnest  of  future.  Parallel  development 
of  force  seems  suggested  on  the  side  of  evil,  and  fore- 
shadowed upon  whole  lines  of  Scripture.  The  accumulations, 
the  organizations  of  spiritual  activity,  motive  or  latent,  both  in 
the  realms  of  the  seen  and  the  unseen,  increase  with  the 
increase  of  every  unit  to  the  one  side  or  the  other. 

Upon  a  merely  arithmetical  basis,  the  conversion  ^  of  India  at 
the  present  rate  of  Christian  increase  in  comparison  with  the 
rate  of  increase  of  population  is  within  measurable  distance. 
And  if  of  India,  of  China  and  the  great  races  of  Central  Africa. 
In  both  these  barely  opened  doors  the  signs  of  future  submission 
to  Christ  are  not  wanting. 

*  Neander.  '  Chap.  ix.  51. 

3  The  data  upon  which  these  views  are  based  are  too  lengthy  to  insert, 
and  lead  to  conclusions  quite  at  variance  with  Canon  Taylor's.  Special 
reference  may  be  made  to  Sir  R.  Temple's  evidence,  "  Oriental  Experieme,'' 
pp.  134,  13s,  142,  143,  161,  162,  "  India  in  i88o,''  and  Sir  W.  Huntir's 
statistics. 


212  JESUS  CHRIST. 

The  most  difficult  problem  before  the  Christian  is  the  con 
version  of  Israel.     But  even  in  this  peculiar  field  there  is  the 
prromise  and  potency  of  life  from  the  dead.  The  Jewish  sabbath 
hymn  may  be  applied  in  a  wholly  Christian  sense, 

"  Thou  city  of  our  King  !  Thou  royal  shrine  ! 
Rise  from  thy  ruins  !  rise  once  more  and  shine  I 
Soon  shall  thy  tears  in  the  sad  vale  be  o'er  ! 
Soon  shall  His  mercy  bid  thee  weep  no  more  1  "* 

The  lanu[uage  of  the  Old  Testament  in  regard  to  the  return  of 
the  chosen  people  not  only  to  God,  but  to  their  own  country 
also,  is  read  by  some  in  a  purely  spiritual  light  in  reference  to 
spiritual  blessing,  but  the  present  writer  agrees  with  a  living 
scholar  that  "  the  general  tenour  of  the  Old  Testament  pro- 
phetic language  with  regard  to  God's  treatment  of  purposes 
towards  the  Jews  does  point  to  a  recovery  and  a  restoration  to 
His  favour  and  to  their  own  country  ;"^  and  echoes  his  ques- 
tion with  regard  to  St.  Paul's  language  in  the  eleventh  chapter 
of  the  Romans,  may  the  apostle  "  mean  that  in  the  predicted 
and  now  visibly  incipient  decay  of  faith  among  Gentile  Churches, 
a  movement  towards  faith  in  Christ  on  the  part  of  the  Jews,  or 
some  considerable  portion  of  them,  may  revive  Christianity  in 
the  world  ;  and  that,  coincidently  with  the  return  of  the  Jews  in 
large  numbers,  whether  with  Christward  tendencies  or  other- 
wise, to  their  own  land,  Jerusalem,  when  the  times  of  the 
Gentiles  shall  have  been  fulfilled,  may  become  once  more, 
through  the  faith  of  Christian  Jews,  the  centre  of  Christian  life 
in  the  world.'"'  Such  would  be  a  Messianic  age  fulfilling  under 
Christian  conditions  many  of  the  most  sublime  previsions  of 
Jewish  seers,  and  the  most  patriotic  aspirations  of  the  higher 
Rabbinism. 

Christian  thought  cannot  stop  at  the  Ascension.  Christian  re- 
velation itself  beckons  it  further.  Christian  science  rigorously 
demands  a  continuity  of  life  and  energy.  Such  life  and  energy 
might  conceivably  be  a  vanished  force.  It  might  upon  such 
ground  be  held  that  Christ's  relation  to  the  earth  had  ceased 
with  His  departure.     But  the  same  record  which  hands  down 

'  A.  Bernstein,  "  The  City  of  David,"  p.  25. 

=  Canon  Medd  ;  for  a  long  list  of  texts  vide  Medd's  Bampton  Lecture, 
p.  553,  note  xvi. 


THE  ASCENSION   AND   AFTER.  2f3 

His  departure  contains  His  promises  of  return  by  the  Spirit, 
and  of  His  permanent  continuance  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world,  and  intimates  a  development,  an  increase  in  the  exercise 
of  His  powers  and  functions.  In  whatever  sense,  and  with 
whatever  power,  Jesus  was  Prophet,  Priest,  and  Sovereign  of 
His  people  below,  initially,  the  same  is  He  under  glorified  con- 
ditions now.  The  full  and  entire  discharge  of  all  corresponding 
and  consequent  offices  and  functions  belong  to  Him  still.  His 
environment  is  changed  infinitely  for  the  higher.  His  powers 
must  correspond.  What  is  unchangeable  in  Him  is  His  Divine 
Person  and  Character.  What  is  unchanged  in  Him,  though 
glorified,  is  His  human  Nature,  indissohibly  annexed  to  the 
Divine,  which  has  gone  from  glory  to  glory.  It  is  through  His 
human  Nature  enthroned  above  that  He  is  the  causative  force 
and  primitive  energy  of  all  the  energies  of  His  kingdom. 

The  sketches  of  the  Acts,  the  histories  and  experiences  dis- 
closed or  implied  in  the  Epistles,  both  of  churches  and  indi- 
viduals, supplement  the  Gospel  memoirs.  They  constitute  "the 
Gospel  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  They  are  brief  typical  examples  of 
the  heavenly  life  of  Christ  transmitting  itself  through  and  into 
earthly  lives,  characters,  ministries,  agencies.  They  are  the 
uplifting  of  His  hand,  the  stretching  out  of  His  arm,  the  breath- 
ing of  His  breath.  He  is  the  Thinker,  the  Worker,  the  Saviour, 
the  Reformer,  the  Preacher,  the  Pastor,  the  Organizer,  the 
Teacher,  the  Unifier. 

He  is  either  this  or  He  is  out  of  the  world,  and  out  of  all  re- 
lation to  it.  Here  we  find  the  truth  which  Pantheism  distorts  ; 
the  Immanence  of  the  Christ  in  the  Church  and  in  the  world. 
Mankind  will  not  be  able  to  abide  long  in  the  half-way  houses 
of  Theism.  Man  will  find  God  in  Christ  everywhere  or  nowhere. 
He  will  see  the  infinite  radiations  from  the  Light  of  light  in  all 
the  scattered  rays  of  light,  or  He  will  stand  in  blank  blindness 
before  the  myriad  dance  of  atoms,  the  fortuitous  rush  of  im- 
personal forces,  in  a  world  unredeemed,  bounded  by  the  infinite 
dark  of  the  unknowable,  a  Christless  cosmic  chaos,  and  chaotic 
cosmos.  Between  faith  and  faithlessness,  hope  and  hopeless- 
ness, love  and  lovelessness,  stands  midway  the  form  of  a  Cross, 
and  the  mystery-solving  mystery  of  a  Divine  Sufferer  with  out- 
stretched hands  ! 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE    CHARACTER    OF    CHRIST.     CHRIST    AS  A    MORAL    AND 
SPIRITUAL  WORKER. 

"Jesus  Christ  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for  ever ''  (HEBREWS 
xiii.  8). 

Miracles  morally  conditioned — Jesus  Christ  a  spiritual  miracle— Strength 
of  right  will  — liis  originality,  negative  and  positive — Authoritativeness 
— Placed  humanity  upon  the  throne  of  the  cosmos,  and  made  mora) 
and  spiritual  interests  supreme — Gave  a  moral  ideal,  and  a  moral 
dynamic — Individualism — Universalism  — Women — Children  —  Practi- 
cal every-day  moralit)' — Consistency — New  virtues  and  graces — Faith — 
Hope — Love — Humility — Truth— Religion  of  the  Body — Unif;cation 
of  religion  and  morality — Prayerfulness — Self-assertion  of  sinlessness. 

The  author  of  "  Supernatural  Religion  "  thinks  that  he  has 
catight  the  Christian  apologist  in  a  vicious  circle,  when  he  says, 
"  that  the  whole  argument  rests  upon  miracles  which  have 
nothing  to  rest  upon  themselves  but  the  Revelation."  But  the 
statement  is  a  begging  of  the  question.  Christianity  rests  as 
upon  a  foundation-stone  upon  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ. 
The  character,  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ  appears  to  the  honest 
seeker  after  truth  to  be  a  spiritual  miracle,  to  be  the  spiritual 
miracle  of  history.  Upon  His  character  revealed  in  His  life, 
and  His  life  flowing  out  of  His  character  the  whole  historic 
structure  of  the  faith  hangs.  Physical  miracles  are  but  one 
expression  of  His  character,  and  one  of  the  many-sided  ex- 
hibitions of  His  energy.  They  constitute,  therefore,  one  line 
of  evidence,  and  unquestionably  they  belong  to  the  substance 
and  texture  of  the  revelation.  But  no  candid  thinker  can 
impose  upon  them  the  whole  weight  of  truth. 


THE  CHARACTER   OF   CHRIST.  21$ 

Once  admitting  the  supernaturalness  of  Christ  as  a  personal 
spiritual  force,  the  admission  of  supernatural  in  the  physical 
region  follows,  as  the  less  contained  in  the  greater,  the  part  in 
the  whole,  to  any  but  the  believer  in  the  purely  mechanical. 
When  we  further  examine  the  miracles  which  disturb  the 
phenomenal  order  of  the  world,  as  we  understand  it,  we  can- 
not escape  the  inference  that  they  are  spiritually  conditioned. 
In  no  one  single  case  can  the  mere  manifestation  of  power  for 
its  own  sake  be  detected.  There  is  always  a  moral  background. 
The  currents  of  moral  causation  set  those  of  physical  effect. 
Moral  conditions  are  annexed  to  the  whole  machinery  of 
miracle,  from  the  lesser  ones  of  healing,  which  were,  so  to  speak, 
the  letting  out  of  His  own  spiritual  and  physical  health  into  the 
diseased  spiritual  and  physical  organisms  of  His  patients,  to 
the  supreme  miracle  of  His  own  Resurrection,  which  vindi- 
cated the  truth  of  His  claims  to  be  the  Lord  of  life  and  death, 
and  the  Master  of  an  eternal  life  which  no  physical  dissolution 
touched. 

We  further  notice  a  strict  principle  of  economy  in  the  work- 
ing of  His  miracles.  Granting  Him  the  power,  how  rarely  He 
used  it !  How  many  needs  were  left  unsatisfied,  how  many 
sufferers  unhealed,  how  many  evidential  forces  held  back,  even 
during  His  official  life,  and  during  His  private  life,  the  silence 
of  self-control,  the  majestic,  unhasting  calm  of  those — 

"  Who  only  stand  and  wait," 

till  a  higher  Power  bids  them  wait  no  more,  but  work  ! 

No  one  who  harbours  critical  doubts  of  the  verifiable  testi- 
mony of  the  Gospels  disputes  the  fact  of  Christ's  life.  If  the 
character  depicted  in  the  Gospels  was  not  His  historical 
character,  the  miracle  of  conceiving  and  exhibiting  His  cha- 
racter must  be  transferred  to  the  four  Evangelists,  and  to  the 
writers  of  the  Epistles.  This  is  to  reject  a  smaller  miracle  in 
order  to  accept  a  much  greater  one.  It  has  been  reserved  for 
Bruno  Bauer  to  exemplify  such  a.  reduc/io,  not  ad  absurduin,  but 
ad  absurdissimum,  when  he  put  forth  in  the  year  1879  a  book 
in  which  Seneca  and  Philo  of  Alexandria  are  averred  to  be 
the  real  founders  of  Christianity  !  Such  criticism  is  its  own 
refutation,  and  damages  both  moral  and  intellectual  respect 
for  the  ultra-critical  school  all  along  the  line,  just  as  a  bad 


2l6  JESUS  CHPIST. 

professing  Christian  often  does  more  harm  than  an  open 
opponent. 

We  see  in  Jesus  Christ  more  than  in  any  one  who  ever 
lived  the  majestic  strength  of  a  self-determining  will,  per- 
fectly bent  on  perfect  ends.  He  was  right  Will  incar- 
nate. His  personal  causality  was  independent  of  His 
surroundings.  He  did  not  adapt  Himself,  except  under  the 
physical  limitations  of  His  real  human  Nature,  to  circum- 
stances ;  He  adapted  circumstances  to  Hill  will.  He  com- 
manded them  as  theif  lawful  Lord,  subject  in  all  times  and 
places  to  the  Will  above.  He  lifted,  He  transformed  the  good ; 
the  evil  He  put  down,  He  destroyed.  Es'en  His  enemies  never 
accused  Him  of  being  the  tool  of  any  party  or  person.  His 
independence  was  acknowledged  while  it  was  condemned.  In 
His  life  conscience  sat  upon  a  throne,  threatened  by  a  host  of 
claimants,  unshaken  for  a  moment.  In  the  court  of  His  con- 
science the  absolute  rule  of  duty  reigned — for  duty  was 
synonymous  with  the  dear  Will  of  His  Father. 

The  moral  creativeness  of  Jesus  is  admitted  by  unbelievers. 
But  the  absolute  contrariety  of  His  moral  spirit,  His  authori- 
tativeness,  His  temper,  and  His  very  words  fairly  taken  in  their 
context,  to  all  the  moral  environment  of  the  time,  Pharisaic, 
Sadducaic,  Essene,  or  Gentile,  is  fatal  to  any  theory  of  its 
human  derivation.  The  only  moral  teacher  who  approached 
tiie  outer  edge  of  His  conceptions  was  the  Baptist.  But  the 
Baptist  never  rose  above  the  level  of  the  prophets,  and  every 
word  he  spake  sprang  from  legal  roots.  And  the  Baptist 
towered  morally  above  his  fellows,  for  he  occupied  the  moral 
platform  of  the  prophets  while  the  Judaism  of  the  day 
had  sunk  to  the  Rabbinical  levels,  both  negatively  and 
positively.  The  negative  ideal  was  "to  keep  one's  self 
from  sin,  not  a  positive  one.  to  do  good  upon  the  earth."' 
While  the  positive  ideal  of  devotion  to  the  Law  resulted  in 
traditionalism  and  externalism,  and  the  narrowest  national  and 
individual  selfishness.  "  The  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth 
becomes  the  manager  of  a  petty  scheme  of  salvation  ;  the  living 
God  descends  from  His  throne  to  make  way  for  the  Law.  The 
Law  thrusts  itself  in  everywhere  •.  it  commands  and  blocks  up 
the  access  to  heaven  ;  it  regulates  and  sets  limits  to  the  under- 

'  WeVhausen,  "History  of  Israel,"  p.  509. 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  CHRIST.  21/ 

Standing  of  the  Divine  working  on  earth.     As  far  as  it  can,  it 
takes  the  soul  out  of  religion  and  spoils  morality."  ' 

Jesus  showed  indisputable  originality  as  a  moral  Teacher, 
both  negatively  and  positively.  Negatively  by  rejecting  the 
most  approved  teachers  and  rulers  of  thought  of  the  time,  by 
His  polemics  again  externalism,  by  His  reversing  the  moral 
positions  of  Pharisee  and  publican  or  sinner,  and  His  oppo- 
sition to  mere  traditionalism.  Positively  His  originality  con- 
sisted both  in  what  must  have  seemed  to  His  enemies  a 
reactionary  return  to  the  primitive  fountains  of  inspiration  and 
revelation,  an  insistance  upon  the  eternal  validity  of  the  moral 
law,  and  by  superadding  to  it  not  a  crust  of  overriding  tra- 
dition, but  a  new  height  and  breadth  and  depth,  new 
sanctions,  new  promises,  new  penalties.  There  was  no  break 
with  the  old  Law  ;  there  was  expansion  ;  there  was  develop- 
ment. Such  expansion  and  development  were  not  natural.  The 
natural  development  had  been  downwards  towards  decay  and 
deterioration.  Rabbinism  is  the  proof  result  ;  Hillel  the  finest 
flower.  It  was  entirely  supernatural,  as  the  expression  of  a 
superhuman  mind  under  the  impetus  of  superhuman  force. 
"Out  of  the  covenant  God  of  Israel  grew  the  Father;  out  of 
the  dignity  of  Israel,  the  dignity  of  man  ;  out  of  the  national 
fellowship,  human  love  ;  out  of  the  theocracy,  the  universal 
kingdom  of  God  ;  out  of  the  law  of  the  two  tables,  with  an 
omission  of  the  sacrificial  statutes,  the  service  of  the  moral  act 
of  the  heart."  ^  This  advance  in  ideas  is  tremendous  measured 
from  the  highest  height  and  purest  purity  of  the  old  Covenant 
teaching  ;  from  the  debased,  adulterated  teaching  of  a  genera- 
tion in  Israel  perverse  and  adulterous,  and  outside  Israel 
corruption  itself,  the  leap  was  infinite.  It  was  a  revolution,  or 
rather  a  new  creation.  And  as  the  teaching  towered  above 
contemporaneous  teaching,  so  did  the  Life  much  more  than 
ower  above  contemporaneous  lives.  The  Lawgiver  outdid 
His  own  law.  The  highest  non-Christian  ethical  teaching,  on 
the  other  hand,  found  and  finds  no  adequate  expression  in  the 
life.  Ethical  ideals  are  not  lived,  is  the  uniform  complaint  both 
of  preacher  and  of  disciple.  Video  mdiora  proboqite  deteriora 
sequor.  Oh  wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  can  deliver  me  ? 
without  the  unsaying  answer  ere  the  question  has  left  the  lips  j 

^  Wellhausen.  *  Keim,  vi.  429 


2l8  JESUS  CHRIST. 

I  thank  God — and  how  thank  I  God? — through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord. 

Another  aspect  of  His  originality  was  His  authoritativeness. 
There  had  been  strong  authoritativeness  in  the  illustrious  line 
of  the  prophets.  One  after  another  had  claimed  to  be  the 
accredited  organ  of  God's  revelation.  One  to  another  had 
handed  on  the  sure  word  of  prophecy.  One  from  another  had 
received,  confirmed,  and  transmitted  to  spiritual  successors,  the 
awful  heritage  of  benediction  and  cursing,  of  promise  and  of 
threatening.  Yet  all  had  pointed  on  with  hand  uplifted  to  Him 
who  was  to  come,  and  would  fulfil  and  sum  up,  and  complete 
all  the  preliminaries  of  prophecy.  John  the  Baptist  spake  with 
the  same  authoritativeness.  Yet  he  and  they  claimed  only  the 
place  at  the  footstool  ;  they  were  not  the  Light  ;  they  were  but 
lights  reflected,  derivative.  Christ  spake  with  all  the  authorita- 
tiveness of  all  the  prophets,  and  much  more  than  all.  For 
their  authoi-ity  was  impersonal  and  derivative.  His  authority 
was  native,  personal,  primary.  They  affirmed,  as  saitli  the 
Lord.     Jesus  affirmed,  I  say  unto  you. 

As  He  transcended  the  Baptist  and  the  prophets,  much  more, 
then,  He  transcended  contemporary  teachers.  Their  highest 
conception  was  faithfulness  to  tradition.  They  might  draw  out 
of  their  treasure  things  old,  but  things  new  never.  The  Rabbi 
was  "'a  well-plastereJ  pit,'  'filled  with  the  water  of  knowledge,' 
'  out  of  which  not  a  drop  could  escape.' "  The  only  room  for 
spontaneity  was  in  the  manipulation  and  adaptation  of  pre- 
cedents and  the  infinite  subdivision  of  applications.  Memory 
was  the  supreme  intellectual  virtue. 

The  moral  and  intellectual  authoritativeness  of  Christ  was 
original  and  self-dependent.  It  sprang  from  His  Divine  certi- 
tude. Christ  had  spiritual  and  intellectual  certitude.  Truth 
was  to  Him  unclouded.  It  flowed  from  Him  as  from  a  pure 
perennial  fountain  fed  from  the  Divine  deeps.  He  had  no 
wrestle  with  doubts,  no  hesitations,  for  His  mind  was  perfectly 
poised.  No  fallacies  could  ever  mislead  Him,  for  they  are  spun 
of  the  Spirit  of  error  which  could  find  nothing  in  Him.  But 
for  His  immediate  contact  with  absolute  truth  He  could  never 
have  apprehended  the  true  Messianic  ideal  at  a  time  when  it 
was  lost  and  had  to  be  recovered.  Perfectly  humble,  perfectly 
simple,  perfectly  sincere,  He  uniformly  asserted,  and  uniformly 
acted  upon  the  assertion,  that  He  knew  the  truth,  that  indeed 


CHRIST  AS   A    MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  WORKER.       219 

He  was  the  Truth.  All  the  expansions  and  dcA'elopments  of 
truth  througl.  the  ages  in  all  departments  of  the  knowable  are 
the  workings  of  His  mind,  the  continuous  outpourings  from  the 
treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge  hidden  in  Him,  and  pro- 
gressively disclosed  through  the  minds  He  enlightens  and  leads 
on  to  all  the  truth.  While  He  had  immediate  native  com- 
munion with  truth  He  did  not  slight,  but  honoured  previous 
teachers.  He  drew  from  them  words  and  thoughts.  He 
appealed  to  historical,  to  prophetic  evidence  and  instruction. 
"  This  day  is  this  Scripture  fulfilled  in  your  ears."  "Moses  and 
the  prophets,"  "What  read  ye  in  the  Law?"  are  phrases  con- 
stantly on  His  lips.  Often  instead  of  opening  some  new  fountain 
of  truth  He  turns  a  questioner  to  the  old  flow,  the  old  familiar 
current  coin. 

Christ  shifted  the  whole  centre  of  interest  in  the  world.  The 
leading  interest  in  the  world  became  for  the  first  time  moral 
and  human,  and  upon  a  definite  basis.  Human  nature  sprang 
into  a  supremacy  of  position  and  authority  in  the  cosmos.  Man 
is  the  explanation  of  Nature,  the  crown  of  its  development,  the 
god  of  its  unconscious  worship.  In  the  hierarchy  of  forces 
he  occupies  the  throne.  Such  a  position  was  drawn  out  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  in  the  great  chapter  which  sees  the  en- 
franchisement of  Nature  implied  in  the  glorious  liberty  of  the 
children  of  God,  and  by  a  bold  personification  attributes  to 
Nature  a  travail  rainbowed  with  hope,  and  a  hope  issuing  in 
fruition.  Not  only  was  human  nature  re-established  in  the 
dominion  over  Nature  enjoyed  before  the  Fall,  but  it  was 
brought  as  a  whole,  and  potentially  in  all  its  parts,  to  the 
throne  of  heaven.'  And  the  whole  process  of  redemption  and 
glorification  was  transacted  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  region, 
upon  moral  and  spiritual  ground.  "All  the  relations  between 
it  (human  nature)  .and  God  became  immediate  and  direct,  not 
incident  to  it  merely  as  part  of  the  universal  organism,  but  due 
to  its  own  special  state  and  essence  ;  so  completely  that  they 
would  remain  the  same  were  the  visible  frame  of  things  to 
vanish  and  leave  us  alone  in  the  infinite  Presence."^  If  by 
"immediate  and  direct"  be  understood  in  and  through  Christ,  the 
above  statement  is  absolutely  true  for  the  Christian.     Human 

»  Conf.  Aristotle's  splendid  aspiration  dXX',  t<p  oaov  tvSixeTai  (sc.  j^pi)) 
uOavaTH^iiv,  N.  Etli.  x.  7. 
'  Prof.  Martineau,  "Types  of  Ethical  Theory,"  i.  p.  14  foil. 


220  JESUS   CHRIST. 

nature  was  elevated  at  every  point,  at  every  interest,  pre- 
eminently in  all  its  moral  relations.  In  fact,  under  Christianity 
moral  and  spiritual  relations  penetrate  and  pervade  all  other, 
and  measure  their  importance. 

Christ  elevated  human  nature  in  itself.  He  also  armed  it 
with  powers  of  self-development.  In  the  first  place,  He  set 
before  humanity  a  supreme  and  absolute  ideal.  This  ideal  is 
final,  and  absorbs  and  concentres  all  minor  and  incidental 
ideals.  It  is  the  ideal  of  His  own  character  and  life  Divine 
seen  under  human  conditions.  This  ideal  was  His  own  con- 
ception and  His  own  creation. 

More  than  this.  It  is  one  thing  to  exhibit  an  ideal,  a  very 
different  thinj;  to  reach  it.  An  art  student  may  admire  Michael 
Angelo,  but  does  not  dream  of  rivalling  him.  An  ideal  bcccmies 
a  stimulus  to  the  gifted,  but  the  despair  of  the  many.  The 
Law  had  erected  an  ideal,  and  ended  in  repelling  instead  of 
attracting. 

Christ  then  gave  a  new  power.  It  was  not  enough  to  set  an 
example  for  imitation,  not  indeed  outward,  as  some  rare  spirits 
have  understood  it,  and  rightly  it  may  be  for  themselves,  for 
what  Christian  would  have  spared  a  Francis  of  Assisi  to  the 
Church? — but  universally  applicable  as  to  its  spirit  and  relation, 
Godward  andmanward.  That  power  is  Christ  Himself,  and  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  as  an  inward  energy  and  life.  "The  powers  of 
the  God-united  humanity  are  made  available  for  us  men  through 
the  Spirit.  The  life  of  the  Incarnate  has  not  vanished  from  the 
earth  ;  it  is  perpetuated  through  spiritual  channels  in  the  race 
of  the  redeemed.  The  'new  Man,'  like  the  '  old  man,'  exhibits 
Himself  as  a  self  propagating  type,  self-propagating  by  its  own 
laws,  '  having  its  seed  in  itself,  like  every  lower  form  or  stage 
of  life  which  had  yet  appeared."  '  The  moral  and  spiritual 
self-developments  of  mankind  hinge  wholly  upon  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  Christ  self  in  each  self,  and  the  appropriation  of  His 
nature  according  to  His  prescribed  and  certified  media  of  grace. 
Christ  gave  a  new  sanction  and  meaning  to  the  individual. 
The  individual  was  the  individual  of  God's  love  and  care,  and 
of  the  Son  of  man's,  and  consequently  of  man's.  The  individual 
was  not  lost  in  a  crowd.  Piimitive  society  was  a  collection  of 
families.  Individi  il  rights  beyond  the  privileged  classes  were 
unknown  outside  liie  Jewish  world.  Aristotle  regarded  the 
»  Church  Quartcity  Kez'ieiv,  July,  1883,  pp.  292,  293. 


CHRIST   AS   A    MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   WORKER.  221 

slave  as  a  human  tool.  Half  the  Roman  Empire  at  least  were 
at  this  time,  it  has  been  computed,  in  slavery.  Even  in  Israel 
the  ignorant  Am-ha-aretz  in  Rabbinical  eyes  were  accursed. 
Christ  both  declared  the  principle  and  acted  upon  the  principle, 
of  the  sacredness  of  each  separate  individual  in  the  eyes  of  the 
All- Father.  Much  of  His  time  was  given  to  the  teaching  of 
individuals.  He  did  not  deal  only  with  masses.  Rather  His 
chief  care  was  the  individual  training  of  the  apostles. 

Nor  was  the  individual  elevated  as  an  isolated  individual, 
but  organically,  in  his  relation  to  the  race.  Racial  diflerences 
and  national  prejudices  were  ignored.  Jew  and  Samaritan, 
Syro-Phenician  and  Greek  and  Persean,  were  all  welcomed  into 
the  kingdom  of  God.  The  Son  of  David  was  the  Son  of  man. 
Nations  and  kingdoms  were  to  enter  into  a  new  nation,  a 
spiritual  Israel,  a  catholic  society.  With  the  Zealots,  who  were 
the  representatives  of  extreme  nationalism  politically,  as  the 
Pharisees  were  religiously,  we  do  not  find  any  trace  of  sympathy. 
The  lie  facto  Roman  Government  was  recognized  as  ck  jure. 
The  threefold  inscription  of  scorn  upon  the  Cross  was  one  of 
the  unconscious  prophecies  of  hate.  The  Gentiles  were  uni- 
formly regarded  as  unclean  by  all  Jews,  just  as  Englislimen  by 
Brahmans.  Christ  opened  the  door  to  the  Gentiles  during  His 
life,  and  commanded  all  nations  to  be  baptized.  All  "  hedges  " 
and  disabilities  He  broke  down. 

The  attitude  of  Jesus  Christ  towards  women  was  the  germ  of 
their  whole  after  enfranchisement.  '"  The  Mishna  deliberately 
and  constantly  places  women  on  a  lower  level  than  men,  both 
legally  and  socially."  '  Jesus  Christ  treated  the  outcast 
Samaritaness  with  respect,  was  ministered  to  in  life  by  women 
of  their  substance,  and  suffered  His  Body  to  be  ministcied  to 
by  women  in  death.  He  was  the  personal  friend  and  guest  of 
Mary  and  Martha.  He  had  mercy  and  gentle  words  for  the 
penitent  harlot.  Above  all,  He  was  born  of  a  woman.  And  to 
His  mother  He  rendered  filial  obedience  for  thirty  years.  His 
dealing  with  women  has  already  been  touched  upon  and  con- 
trasted with  non-Christian  practice. 

Christ  had  sweet  and  gracious  dealings  with  children.  No 
children  found  place,  or  have  left  any  record  if  they  did,  in  the 
society  of  John  the  Baptist.     Jesus  loved  them.     He  ga\e  them 

'  Bennett,  p   67. 


222  JESUS  CHRIST. 

the  Rabbi's  blessing  and  touch.  He  observed  their  g^mes,  and 
drew  illustrations  of  teaching  from  children  playing  in  the 
market-place.  They  followed  Him  to  the  greenswards  of  the 
wilderness,  and  a  little  boy  supplied  the  food  of  the  five 
thousand.  The  children  cried,  "  Hosanna,"  in  the  Temple. 
One  child,  unique  in  her  history,  He  raised  from  the  dead. 
Tenderness  to  children  was  no  new  thing  even  for  fallen  human 
nature.  We  see  it  in  animals'  affection  for  the  young.  Christ 
transfigured  and  renewed  all  natural  affection.  His  intense 
desire  for  the  spiritual  regeneration  and  education  of  children 
breathes  in  His  burning  words  against  any  who  should  offend 
one  of  these  little  ones  ;  and  in  His  sweet  revelation  of  their 
angels. 

Just  as  in  His  lowliness  He  raised  women  and  children  to 
new  possibilities  of  honour  in  the  future,  and  showed  His 
reverence  and  honour  to  the  weak,  so  His  life  and  character 
revealed  an  every-day  homeliness.  His  teaching  was  a  living 
thing  for  every  day,  a  living  spirit  which  would  pour  oil  and 
wine  into  the  wounds  of  an  injured  man,  which  would  forgive  a 
brother  his  trespasses,  which  would  pray  for  daily  bread,  which 
declared  war  with  selfishness  and  covetousness  in  all  shapes. 

Consistency  is  another  mark  of  Jesus'  character  and  view  of 
life.  We  entirely  fail  to  see  any  contradictions,  or  discords,  or  any 
gradation  of  ideas,  such  as  Renan  has  asserted  buc  not  proved. 
There  was  progress  in  revelation  of  ideas  according  to  maturity 
of  receptiveness,  but  no  change  in  His  own  attitude  or  purpose. 
The  Father ;  the  Cross.  These  were  the  keywords  from  first  to 
last.  Wherever  He  was,  He  was  always  the  same — indifferent 
places,  societies,  ethical  sceneries,  "  the  same  soul,  the  same 
doctrine,  the  same  faith  in  God  the  Father,  the  same  religion  of 
the  love  of  God,  of  purity  of  heart,  of  renunciation  of  the  earth, 
of  heavenly  hopes."  ' 

In  the  sphere  of  His  spiritual  creativeness  Jesus  added 
new  virtues,  both  in  example  and  precept.  Faith  was  the  one 
word  which  summed  up  the  virtue  of  psalmists  and  prophets. 
But  faith  received  newer  and  higher  meanings  and  applications, 
and  was  submitted  to  severer  strains.  Jesus  Himself  showed 
an  uniform  temper  of  faith  in  God  :  from  first  to  last  He  trusted 
absolutely  in  His  Father.     When  He  committed  His  soul  into 

'  E.  Caro,  "  L'Idee  de  Dieu,"  cbapitre  iii. 


CHRIST   AS   A    MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   WORKER.  223 

His  hands,  it  was  the  last  act  in  the  whole  life  of  surrender. 
"What  He  did  He  required,  faith  in  God,  faith  in  Himself. 
This  was  a  necessary  presupposition.  Failh  entered  upon  a 
new  field.  It  formed  the  basis  of  all  Christian  life,  the  founda- 
tion of  all  morals.  With  faith,  hope  and  love  entered  upon  a 
new  history.  But  this  subject  would  require  a  treatise  to  itself. 
Let  this  remark  suffice,  faith,  hope,  and  love,  for  Him  and  His 
bare  boih  Godward  and  manward.  He  trusted  in  God,  He 
knew  man  best  of  all,  man's  weakness,  falseness,  treachery,  yet 
trusted  too  in  man.  To  man  He  committed  His  work,  His 
cause.  He  hoped  in  God,  He  hoped  in  man.  He  loved  God, 
He  loved  man.  The  so-called  service  of  man  began  with  His 
life,  His  teaching,  His  death.  He  gave  man  a  new  interest 
in  his  brother.  Neighbour  was  but  one  example  of  a  word 
baptized  into  new  meanings. 

Humility,  as  has  often  been  observed,  was  a  newly  created 
virtue,  born  in  Christ's  example,  and  bred  in  His  teaching. 
''  The  characteristic  of  humility  and  submission,"  as  Lotze  '  has 
observed,  "  that  is  lacking  even  in  the  most  mournful  expres- 
sions of  this  sense  of  finiteness  in  antiquity,  was  brouglit  for  the 
first  time  by  Christianity  into  the  heart  of  men,  and  with  it  hope 
came  too.  It  was  a  redemption  for  men  to  be  able  to  tell  them- 
selves that  human  strength  is  not  sufficient  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  its  own  ideals."  Truthfulness,  in  life  and  speech,  was 
certainly  enforced  by  Christ  with  new  sanctions  and  guarantees. 
"  I  am  the  Truth,"  He  certified,  and  Christendom  has  not  yet 
got  to  the  bottom  of  that  statement.  The  Spirit  of  Truth  He 
promised  to  send  to  lead  into  all  the  truth. 

A  world  of  new  religion  began  for  the  human  body.  Christ  had 
supreme  respect  for  matter,'  and  for  the  human  body,  as  the 
"  roof  and  crown  "  of  the  material  world.  He  showed  it  by  His 
healings,  generally  by  bodily  touch.  He  showed  by  His  bodily 
suffering  and  reverent  burial.  Above  all,  He  showed  it  by  His 
bodily  resurrection.  He  showed  it  by  His  stress  upon  purity. 
This  stands  in  the  sharpest  contrast  to  ultra-asceticism  which 
treats  the  body  as  wholly  evil,  an  idea  so  prevalent  in  Oriental 
religions.  The  death-bed  of  the  eminent  Buddhist  pilgrim, 
Huian-Thsang,  gives  a  striking  example.  "  His  friends  are  all 
invited  to  assemble  round  his  couch  and  take  a  joyous  leave  of 
his  'impure  and  despicable  body,'  which,  after  having  played  its 
'  "  Alicrocosmus,"  Eng.  traiiiL,  ii.p.  270. 


224  JKSUS   CHRIST, 

part,  is  lost  to  him  for  ever."''  Hinduism,  thrnuj^h  all  its 
opposinj^  forms  of  thought,  agrees  in  one  desire,  the  dehverance 
from  the  body.'  Christ  came  to  purify  and  redeem  body  as  well 
as  soul,  and  to  set  both  in  an  eternity  of  inseparable  glory,  where 
His  own  body  reigns.  His  body,  He  taught,  was  the  Temple, 
which  destroyed  in  "  three  days  would  rise  again."  Such 
teaching  bore  its  fruit  in  St.  Paul's  dicta  about  the  bodies  of  the 
redeemed  Christians  being  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

As  in  the  redemption  of  the  body,  so  in  all  ways,  Jesus  Christ 
effected  an  alliance  and  a  permanent  reconciliation  between 
religion  and  morality.  Contemporary  religion  consisted  fcr  the 
most  part  in  ceremonialism.  Jesus  purified  the  Temple  of  trrt.'fic. 
The  act  was  typical  of  His  purification  of  all  religion  towards 
God.  He  found  a  moral  factor  in  all  religion.  He  enshrined 
forgiveness  and  brotherly  love  in  the  prayer  of  prayers.  It  is 
needless  to  contrast  here  Hinduism  with  its  immoral  divinities, 
its  faith  without  works,  its  worshipper,  who  by  offering  up  "an 
animal  duly  consecrated  by  Agni,  and  by  Soma,  is  therewith 
able  to  buy  off  all  deities  at  once  ; "  ^  as  needless  to  contrast 
Mohammedanism.  Whether  modern  moral  systems  in  declared 
antagonism  to  Christianity,  such  as  Comtism,  non-Christian 
forms  of  Socialism  and  the  Service  of  Man,  are  more  than 
eclectic  fragments,  borrowing  without  acknowledgment  from 
Christianity,  as  when  Comte,  "  finally  getting  his  Positive 
d  )ctrine  '  free  of  theological  oppression  and  metaphysical 
drvnsss,  and  condensing  it  into  a  maxim  that  shall  hold  it  all, 
alights,  unconscious  of  their  source,  upon  the  words  of  Jesus, 
'  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive,'""*  whether  such 
systems  are  capable  of  transcending  Christianity  and  super- 
seding it  in  the  struggle  for  existence,  is  for  the  disciples  of 
such  systems  to  prove. 

The  very  intellectual  enfranchisement  which  is  enjoyed  by 
Christian  and  anti-Christian  thinkers  is  a  debt  to  Him  who 
oiTered  stimulus  to  thought  as  well  as  to  feeling,  who 
redeemed  the  intellect  as  well  as  the  heart,  whose  after-course 
through  the  world,  so  far  as  it  is  traceable  in  the  workings 
of  Christians,  has  been  a  constant,    steady  progress    towards 

'  Hardwick,  "  Christ  and  other  Masters,"  Religions  of  China,  p.  344. 

2  Cf.  Rev.  E.  G.  Punchard,  "  Hinduism,"  Mission  Life,  Feb.,  i83o. 

3Haixhvick,  "  Christ  and  other  Masters,  "  p.  228. 

4  Prof.  Martineau,  "  Types  of  E1hic.1l  Theory,"  i.  p.  475. 


CHRIST  AS   A    MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   WORKER.  225 

the  enfranchisement  of  all  right  thinking,  right  speaking, 
right  doing,  and  the  gradual  overthrow  of  the  legions  of 
error.  The  Christian  who  works  from  a  basis  of  belief  in  the 
guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  truth,  in  individuals  in  less  degree,  in 
collective  Christianity  in  a  greater  degree,  has  a  sure  in- 
tellectual as  well  as  moral  standing  ground  ;  whereas  the  non- 
Christian  has  only  some  man  or  system  of  thought  to  fall  back 
upon,  who,  or  which,  must,  in  the  invariable  experience  of  the 
past,  give  way  to  new  men  and  new  systems. 

Jef^is  would  not  have  been  true  man  if  He  had  not  shown 
a  spirit  of  prayer.  Prayer  is  the  life  breath  of  the  Christian, 
and  cannot  have  been  less  to  the  Son  of  man.  The  Divine  in- 
dwelling did  not  exempt  Him  from  the  natural  langua;.',e  of  man 
conscious  of  God.  Times  of  especial  prayer  were  times  of 
especial  human  need  and  signal  work,  times  also  of  extraordinary 
Divine  manifestation.  It  was  while  He  prayed  at  the  Baptism 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  descended  ;  after  a  night  of  prayer  that 
the  Twelve  Apostles  were  chosen  ;  in  prayer  that  He  was 
transfigured;  in  the  Gethsemane  prayer  that  an  angel  comforted 
Him.  It  was  the  sight  apparently  of  Jesus  in  prayer  that 
prompted  the  prayer  to  be  tauglu  a  form  of  prayer.  At 
times  He  would  give  thanks  before  what  He  asked  for  to 
human  eyes  came  to  pass.  "  His  prayer  was  the  middle  point 
of  His  activity,  the  holy  altar  upon  which  He  ever  consecrates 
and  offers  anew  His  humanity  to  God,  and  this  is  always  in  turn 
penetrated  and  ilUimined  by  the  Divine."' 

The  most  remarkable  of  all  Christ's  moral  characteristics  was 
His  absence  of  any  sense  of  sin,  or  moral  shortcoming.  Unlike 
any  other  moral  teacher.  He  never  expressed  any  moral  regrets. 
He  never,  like  the  best  of  Israel's  sons,  a  Moses,  a  David,  a 
Nehemiah,  a  Daniel,  bowed  Himself  in  penitential  confession. 
He  not  only  knew  His  own  sinlessness,  but  He  asserted  it  ; 
asserted  it  as  a  necessary  factor  in  His  self  revelation,  self- 
vindication,  self-evidence,  challenging  His  enemies  to  con- 
vince Him  of  sin.  And  the  question  still  rings  from  His 
lips.  And  the  adoring  hearts  and  bowed  heads,  and 
triumphant  hopes  of  millions  of  Christians,  past  and  present 
in  life,  and  in  death,  in  prayer  and  in  working,  whether  they 
eat   or   drink,    whether  they  sleep  or  wake,  or  whatever  iht-y 

•  Dorner,  "  System  of  Christian  Doctrine,''  iii.  p.  370. 
16 


226  JESUS   CHRIST. 

do,  bend  before  Him  in  His  moral  innocence,  His  spiritual 
strength,  His  inexhaustible  love,  His  omnipresent  energy,  as 
still  and  for  ever  true  Son  of  man  and  Son  of  God,  as  the 
centre  and  spring  of  their  life  in  this  world  and  their  hope  in 
the  world  to  come. 


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DATE  DUE 

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Jesus  Christ,  the  divine  man;  His  life 


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